Page 108 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

106 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 100 Squadron RAF
As 2018 draws to a close we look back on a truly remarkable year during which the Royal Air Force proudly celebrated its centenary; 100 years of military aviation as the world’s first independent Air Force. Formed on 23rd February 1917, 100 Squadron was already in existence on 1st April 1918 as the Royal Air Force was founded, operating as a night bomber force in France.
Although disbanded and reformed several times during the in- tervening 100 years, the pedigree and traditions borne in those early years still pervade today. The Squadron was delighted to be included as an integral part of the 100 aircraft centenary flypast over Buckingham Palace on 15th July 2018 when we flew nine of the Squadron’s Hawk aircraft in close formation across London. This was an almost unique occasion as very few single-engine fast jets, with the exception of the Red Arrows, have ever been allowed across the centre of London previously even as single- tons, let alone as a 9-ship formation. A flypast that was some 10 months in the planning saw squadrons forward deployed to nu- merous locations across the UK to facilitate the rendezvous off the Suffolk coast. 100 Squadron deployed every one of its aircraft to Royal Air Force Wittering for the event and maintained 100% serviceability throughout, testament to the 44-year-old aircraft and the skills of its civilian engineering support team.
Whilst the Centenary Flypast was clearly the visible statement of our proud 100-year heritage, 2018 was also an extremely busy year for the Squadron in fulfilling its core roles in support to land, maritime and air elements both in the UK and overseas.
The Squadron’s primary focus in the UK was the continued sup- port to the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon Force. In this capacity the Squadron can be expected, on a daily basis, to contribute opposition forces – known as Red Air – to train, exercise and test frontline squadrons and the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit. With the arrival of the Royal Air Force’s newest and most advanced fighter, the F35 Lightning, at RAF Marham this year, 100 Squadron has found its Red Air role expand as we develop tactics and procedures to ‘combat’ and exercise our fifth-gen- eration stealth fighter against the Hawk. This is an adversarial match in terms of historical timeline which would be the equiva- lent of pitting a Sopwith Camel (1918) against the F35’s earlier namesake, the BAC Lightning (1958).
Maritime support has once again focused on participation in Ex- ercise JOINT WARRIOR, a bi-annual tri-Service exercise which coordinates land, maritime and air assets of multi-national forc- es in Joint and Combined operations. Unlike 2017, during which both iterations were UK-based, in 2018 the second iteration of JOINT WARRIOR was conducted off the west coast of Norway
13 Serviceable Aircraft on the Line
Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTION
as an adjunct to Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018. TRI- DENT JUNCTURE was a 3-week NATO Exercise and was the largest of its kind since the Cold War, involving land, maritime and air assets from many NATO nations, together with Sweden and Finland. Based on an ARTICLE 5 major intervention sce- nario, the Squadron deployed eight pilots and four aircraft to Ørland Air Base in Norway, from where we flew up to eight mis- sions each day in support of both BLUE and RED Forces.
2018 was another exceptionally busy year for 100 Squadron. Par- ticipation in the Centenary celebrations and employment in a diverse panoply of operational training commitments at home and overseas have once again reinforced the importance and utility of 100 Squadron as a dedicated Aggressor unit. As we look towards 2019, the future promises even wider engagement potential as a training provider. The Squadron expects to incor- porate elements of Advanced Flying Training into its portfolio, whilst providing a lead role in the provision of Air Support to Defence Operational Training, a Tri-Service concept currently in the final stages of development.
Over the Mall Gneisenau Main Guns – Norwegian Defences F35 Intercept