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While many international exercises such as Red Flag are hosted at one location, Cobra Warrior sees aircraft and personnel deployed across the UK. RAF Mildenhall was home to Norwegian F-35s and USAF F-16CJs, while RAF Leeming accommodated USAF HH-60G Pavehawks. The RCAF detachment was split between RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Waddington, which also housed NATO E-3 aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Canadian air task force consisted of seven CF-18 Hornets flying from Waddington and one CC-150T Polaris, providing aerial refuelling, at Lossiemouth. Approximately 140 personnel including maintenance technicians, operations, intelligence analysts and public relations supported the deployment. Several aerospace controllers worked alongside their RAF colleagues at RAF Boulmer and its Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS), used to monitor and defend U.K. airspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each year, the RCAF receives numerous exercise invitations and often seeks out those with the best training value. Though first-time participants to Cobra Warrior, the benefits of the multinational event ranged far and wide, explained Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Lawrence, the air task force commander, and the Commanding Officer of 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) at 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn my time flying fighters, I have never come to England with the jets and participated and worked so closely with the RAF,\u201d he said. \u201cFor us at the tactical level, it was something new. The exercise staff had put together what we thought was a great training package for the pilots and air weapons controllers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Cobra Warrior] afforded us the opportunity to go somewhere new, integrate with different forces and learn in an environment that was going to give us mission scenarios that were representative of real-world operations,\u201d added Lawrence, an experienced Hornet pilot with 17 years on the aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n International training deployments also carry strategic objectives. At a time of year when a fighter squadron has been deployed in Romania, conducting NATO air policing, under Operation Reassurance, the Canadian Armed Forces deterrence mission in Europe, collaborating with allies as a large fighter force sends a significant message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the strategic level, sending Hornets to Europe is a statement in itself,\u201d said Lawrence. \u201cIt demonstrates Canada\u2019s commitment not only to NATO, but to all our allies around the world that Canada is committed, and we are here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Op Reassurance, an initiative first established in response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, includes a Canadian Army-led multinational battlegroup in Latvia, Royal Canadian Navy vessels patrolling the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, and an RCAF air mobility detachment operating from Prestwick in the U.K, providing transport of donated equipment and weapons to Ukrainian forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith the events in Ukraine over the last year and a half or so, it is important for us to reaffirm that message,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat better way to do that than to send military equipment and train with our allies so that we\u2019re all ready for any contingency.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With European security facing its toughest test of solidarity arguably since the Second World War, it is perhaps no surprise that the focus of Cobra Warrior 23-3 was on countering state-on-state aggression. Developed by 92 Squadron RAF, Cobra Warrior portrayed a \u201csituation that changed dynamically day to day based on the results of each mission. We were given a scenario to work within and apply critical thinking and solve [tactical] problems,\u201d said Lawrence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first week of the exercise saw participants respond to, and defend against, a surprise attack on a fictional European nation. During this opening stage, Canadian Hornets conducted defensive counter-air missions, aiming to protect a list of strategic targets or high value airborne assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moving into the second week, the focus shifted to air-interdiction\/strike missions as the hypothetical campaign shifted from defence to offence, with Scotland standing in for enemy territory. During this phase participants simulated dropping air-to-ground weapons while USAFE (United States Air Forces Europe) Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) specialists, the 480th Fighter Squadron, engaged simulated surface-to-air missile sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The third and final week introduced contingency operations, specifically personnel recovery. These sorties simulated that a pilot had been forced to eject over hostile territory and would need to be located and extracted. CF-18s flew combat air patrols (CAP) providing aerial cover for USAF HH-60G Pavehawks from the 56th Rescue Squadron tasked with recovering the downed aircrew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As a large, multinational exercise, Cobra Warrior presented training opportunities for the entire Canadian detachment. \u201cWe don\u2019t really get the opportunity to participate in an exercise of this scale very often,\u201d said Lawrence, \u201cso when it does happen, you really want to maximize the training for everyone. As the Commanding Officer, one of my objectives is to give that opportunity to everybody.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Junior pilots were able to experience multi-asset scenarios, far larger than the small packages flown at home. These assets brought together a slew of different capabilities \u2014 rotary wing, airborne early warning and fighters \u2014 testing their ability to maximize their effectiveness and to solve tactical problems. Training like this helps build the skills of young crews so that when\/if they are deployed on real-world operations, they are used to working and planning with different nations to accomplish their mission, Lawrence explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For new CF-18 pilots like call sign \u201cPenguin,\u201d Cobra Warrior was an opportunity to hone tactics based on lessons learned from the recent conflict in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver the past couple of years, there\u2019s been a lot of new threats and TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures) that we\u2019re observing. We have to validate our own training and tactics against that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A member of 433 Squadron for just under two years, Penguin completed his fighter-lead-in training at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program at Shepherd Air Force Base, Texas, and his conversion training to CF-18 at 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.skiesmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1-1024x633.jpg\")
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Countering state aggression<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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