Five’s company on ex

By Corporal Simone Liebelt

LAC Nathan Cooper removes the protective covers from a weapon attached to a No. 3 Squadron F/A-18 Hornet as part of pre-flight routine.

Photo by LAC Andrew Eddie

FLYING during Exercise Bersama Lima “wasn’t too different to home, however the missions were quite unique”, said Hornet pilot Flight Lieutenant Aaron Ward.

He flew one of 10 F/A-18s from No. 3 Squadron during the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA) exercise, held around Singapore and the Malay Peninsula recently.

Five F-111s from No. 6 Squadron, two AP-3Cs from No. 10 Squadron and a B707 from No. 33 Squadron also participated from Australia, along with 300 personnel.

Flight Lieutenant Ward said No. 3 Squadron mainly formed part of the “blue contingent”, which flew defensive counter-air operations. Their mission was to defend the land and sea components under attack by the “red contingent”.

“Valuable training was obtained due to the true unknown environment, as aircrew derive significant benefit from rapidly modifying tactics [while] airborne, in response to differing adversary aircraft type and numbers.

“The most value the squadron gained from these particular missions was forming part of the integration between the nations, and the land, sea and ground agencies.”

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