RAF Wittering News

Royal Air Force aircraft and personnel are training on an exercise in Sweden alongside eight other nations to work together in building collective security.

Arctic Challenge Exercise (ACE) is one of Europe’s largest air force exercises with 140 aircraft and 4000 troops from the UK (RAF), Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and USA, supported by NATO assets, coming together from 22 May – 4 June to test their effectiveness in a realistic threat environment.

Flying Officer Ben Stubbings, 24, Logistics Officer at RAF Wittering said: “The best part of this exercise is the team that I work with: everyone is highly qualified with a lot of experience so I’m just learning as much as I can from them to be ready for future deployments. It’s a great training opportunity not just for the pilots but for all the support personnel too.”

Located at Luleå-Kallax air base, the RAF is contributing 155 personnel from 14 RAF stations to support aircraft on the exercise: including Typhoon fast-jets, Hercules and Voyager transport aircraft. Personnel from 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron, 1 Expeditionary Logistic Squadron and 5001 Squadron, all from RAF Wittering, are providing specialist engineering and logistic support.

Each day sees up to 100 aircraft fly simultaneously in the exercise area which extends across the airspaces of Sweden, Finland and Norway. The pilots from each nation take part in simulated scenarios to practice their combat air skills, alternating between playing the role of enemy or ally.

Flight Lieutenant Luke Swithenbank, 27, Medical Officer at RAF Wittering said: “It’s important that we have British medical personnel here to support our aircrew and keep them in the air which keeps our aircraft in the air. Hearing the sound of those jets roaring across is a good show of airpower, and the little things we do to support that on the ground is important work.”

The RAF’s Typhoons fly alongside Swedish Gripens; F-18s from Finland and the US; F-16s from Norway, Denmark and the US; and the Rafale and Mirage from France.

By taking part in the exercise, the nine participating air forces share knowledge and learn from each other to strengthen their interoperability. Personnel are tested in various disciplines including:

Threat evasion tactics such as low-level flying

Aerial resupply (load drops) to friendly forces

Search and rescue

Air-to-air refuelling

The exercise is uniquely operated from three airbases in three different countries, adding further complexity to already demanding missions. This trains personnel for the possibility of working this way with other nations on future operations. Arctic Challenge Exercise is hosted between the air forces of Sweden, Finland and Norway and this year is led by the Swedish Air Force.