Page 16 - RAF Lossiemouth Special Report

Visiting RAF Lossiemouth: The RAF Shapes a Way Ahead

We had combat mass and significant strike capability which could be delivered rapidly and coalition partners
quickly began to pick up on this capability.”
As he described the performance, “we could operate a four ship formation and strike 16 targets in one pass.
We never could do that with Tranche 1.

FIGURE 4 TYPHOON AIRCRAFT WHICH RELOCATED TO RAF LOSSIEMOUTH NUMBER 1 FIGHTER SQUADRON WITH A SPECIAL 8-SHIP FORMATION IN
THE SHAPE OF A NUMBER 1. THEY RELOCATED FROM RAF LEUCHARS IN SEPTEMBER 2014. CREDIT: RAF

And we provided close air support to our ground forces, and provide information to the ground forces to
support their operations, with targeting information provided from the ground maneuver forces, or from our
onboard sensors.”
The way ahead in his view is the integration of new weapons, such as the evolving Brimstone series, to expand
the capabilities, which the Typhoon can deliver in the battlespace.
He argued that if the weapons envelope was expanded then the speed of the Typhoon could be leveraged
to expand the attack profile of the aircraft.
In short, for this Typhoon pilot, the recent Operation SHADER experience highlights the new capabilities of
Typhoon, and shapes in his mind a key way ahead.
“We can fly high and fast but we are limited by current generation weapons in terms of how we can use
them.”
The evolution of Typhoon highlights the need for evolving the weapons capability of the aircraft to take
advantage of the platform’s performance capabilities.
For an overview on 1 (F) Squadron, see the following:
http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/1squadron.cfm

OPERATION SHADER AS A DRIVER FOR CHANGE IN THE RAF TYPHOON
FLEET: THE PERSPECTIVE OF WING COMMANDER PETERS, OC ENGINEERING
AND LOGISTICS WING

During the visit to RAF Lossiemouth in April 2016, there was a chance to talk with the Officer Commanding
Engineering and Logistics Wing at RAF Lossiemouth.
Second Line of Defense

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