Exercise Point Blank is an annual US-led Large Force Exercise run by 48th Operational Support Squadron at RAF Lakenheath. In 2026, Exercise Point Blank ran from 26 January to 6 February and saw armed forces elements from the US, UK and Norway operating in the North Sea training areas. The aim was to conduct the most advanced NATO fighter integration tactics across Offensive Counter Air and Defensive Counter Air mission sets, integrating as many on-island Combat Air Force assets as possible alongside Special Operations Forces to develop tactics and rehearse missions.
207 Squadron, flying F-35Bs from RAF Marham, took part in Exercise Point Blank, conducting Air Combat Training as part of the Operational Conversion Unit course for Initial Qualification on type. After a course lasting over ten months, taking trainees from flying advanced jet trainers through to becoming operational UK F-35B Combat Air pilots, these were the live flight graduation events. Operating with up to 16 other F-35s from the US and Norway, and as a combined force of up to 40 aircraft, they employed all of the basic and advanced skills and mission sets trained to date in dynamic wartime scenarios. They were joined by other UK force elements, including Typhoons of 3(F) Squadron from RAF Coningsby and Voyager air refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton.
For 207 Squadron, celebrating their 110th anniversary in 2026, Exercise Point Blank has resounding historical significance. The squadron is one of the few remaining in the RAF that took part in Operation Pointblank – the combined RAF and USAAF strategic bombing offensive against Nazi Germany aimed at degrading German air power ahead of D-Day, from June 1943 to March 1944. The squadron flew Lancaster bombers from RAF Langar initially, moving to RAF Spilsby in October 1943. Of the 540 operational missions 207 Squadron conducted in the Second World War, an estimated 300–350 were flown during this intense period and contributed directly to the Pointblank effort. The sheer quantity of missions did not come without sacrifice: over the course of the war, 207 Squadron lost 148 aircraft, with 954 airmen killed and a further 138 taken prisoner of war.
Today, flying its 25th aircraft type, 207 Squadron is a centre of excellence for fifth-generation combat air operations and the cornerstone of the F-35B Lightning Force, training pilots, engineers, intelligence and mission support personnel to maintain and operate the F-35, as well as delivering the capstone Qualified Weapons Instructor Course.
