Transport aircraft and typhoon jets will be flying from Royal Air Force Wittering in the week commencing Monday 31st May until Friday 4th June.
RAF Wittering is reaching out to its neighbours in the nearby towns and villages, and to those in the equestrian community, to advise them of a significant increase in aircraft noise. On current plans aircraft activity will be restricted to daylight hours, running from 0800 to 1800 local time.
Exercise Swift Pirate is a regular feature in the Cambridgeshire Station’s calendar and the heavy aircraft, such as Atlas A400M and Globemaster C-17, are familiar sights in the skies around RAF Wittering.
Powerful Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby will also arrive, adding an extra layer of authenticity as Wittering’s airfield takes on the role of an underused airstrip in a foreign country. It will be the first time since RAF100 in 2018 that fast jets have operated from RAF Wittering.
Image By: Cpl Neil Brydon
With its long runway and wide taxiways, RAF Wittering’s spacious airfield can accept UK military aircraft of any size.
The exercise promises to be a real test for No 1 Air Mobility Wing (1AMW). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 1AMW is an A4 Force Element and specialises in the safe loading and unloading of military passengers and freight. Headquartered at RAF Wittering, the A4 Force Elements are the high-readiness engineering and logistics units which support RAF operations around the world.
Image By: SAC Kimberley Waterson
Wing Commander Jez Case is Officer Commanding Operations Wing and ensures the safe running of RAF Wittering’s airfield and airspace. He said: “Our airfield is a brilliant military asset and it’s only right that Defence makes maximum use of it. We have skilled and experienced team in Operations Wing who are well used to handling many different aircraft types, so I’m very optimistic about this exercise and hope we see more aircraft coming here in the future.”
Group Captain Jo Lincoln is the Station Commander at RAF Wittering and the A4 Force Elements Commander. She said: “Realistic training is essential, and I am certainly pleased that the Typhoon force has chosen to come here for a brief detachment. In circumstances such as these, reaching out to our neighbours is the right thing to do. The goodwill of our neighbouring communities is of the highest value to us, and we need that relationship to continue”.
