|
Accent
on Scottish exercise
CREWS
and aircraft from RAAF Base Edinburgh’s No. 92 Wing have gathered
with warships and aircraft from the United Kingdom and allied nations
to participate in a major training exercise off the coast of Scotland.
92WG recently deployed two P-3C Orion aircraft and three operational
crews to Royal Air Force Base Kinloss in Scotland for Joint Maritime
Course (JMC) 02-2.
With maintenance and support personnel, the detachment, under the
command of Wing Commander Alan Towie, included 85 personnel from
No. 11 Squadron and 92WG Headquarters.
The Joint Maritime Courses are held three times a year and are run
by the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff (JMOTS) to provide
UK and allied maritime units with the opportunity to train in a
multi-threat environment.
Officer Commanding 92WG Group Captain Steve Martin said JMC 02-2
provided a concentrated period of operational training in a highly
complex scenario which was held off the shores of the Isle of Skye.
“This is a different operating environment to what our people
are used to and, of course, the weather is totally different as
well, providing its own challenges,” GPCAPT Martin said.
“JMC provides a very good training environment for working
crews up towards their mission qualifications.”
Participants were able to conduct inshore and coastal operations,
while remaining close to the deep waters needed for anti-submarine
warfare training. JMC involved hundreds of personnel and a number
of ships, submarines and aircraft from countries such as the United
States, Italy, Spain, Canada, France, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.
GPCAPT Martin said involvement in JMC allowed 92WG to not only make
an overall assessment of current capability but to also benchmark
its performance against that of other Maritime Patrol Squadrons.
“After looking at our performance during JMC, we are confident
that our crews and technical support personnel are as good as any
in the world and that our procedures ensure we can effectively integrate
and operate with US, UK and NATO maritime forces in a challenging
environment,” he said.
|
