UAE and Britain join forces for training exercise

[SpArK]

UAE and Britain join forces for training exercise​

AL DHAFRA AIR BASE // The UAE and Britain held joint air force and navy training exercises during the past two weeks as part of expanding military ties with this country, which the UK sees as a crucial ally in the region.

Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon jet fighters and airborne surveillance aircraft joined Emirati F-16s and Mirages in the air exercises, called Operation Air Khanjar.

The training also involved the UAE Navy and Britain's Royal Navy. The event, held from November 18 to December 1, sought to enhance "interoperability between the UAE and UK military as part of [the] UK's ongoing commitment to the UAE", the British military said in a briefing note.

The training increased in complexity as the operation developed, with more advanced flight manoeuvres and joint exercises with the British HMS Cumberland, which was conducting maritime security operations in the Gulf.

The climax was a combined air defence exercise involving the UAE Air Force, the RAF and the Royal Navy, designed to showcase the ability of the Emirati and British air forces to co-operate with each other and maritime forces.

The British units formed the 906 Expeditionary Air Wing, based out of Al Dhafra for the duration of the mission. The UK said the exercise showed its commitment to "broader regional stability" and enhanced ties with the UAE.

"It's important for us to understand how the Emiratis fly and it's important for them to know how we fly, and to be able to communicate," said Wing Commander David Crump, a staff member stationed at the Air Warfare Centre, which is based at Al Dhafra.


Some of the combat training involved dogfights, before the aircraft returned to base for debriefings on how the pilots could better handle these combat scenarios.

The two air forces also carried out mixed fighter training, which involved setting up combat situations for teams of different fighters.

"You put different aircraft types on the same side, so you will still have somebody who is the enemy, but you will still have, say, Typhoons and F-16s as the friendly forces," he said. "Working together [is] something quite difficult because the Typhoons have different ways of doing business and the F-16s have a different way of doing business.

"It raises the professional competence of both and it induces a sense of trust and understanding."

Most of the foreign students who train at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (the British army officer training centre in Surrey) are from the UAE. The country is operating alongside Britain in Afghanistan, which showed its strategic importance, said Maj Andrew Teeton, of the British Joint Force Headquarters.

The Royal Navy relies on the UAE for ports, and the RAF participates in training alongside Emirati forces at the Air Warfare Centre.

But the UAE's most significant contribution is allowing British tactical planes to use Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai as a final "hopping point". Aircraft such as C-17 transport planes, which carry troops and supplies to Afghanistan, use the base.

The base also provides logistical support to British vessels deployed in the Gulf, which are tasked with destroying naval mines in the region.



"They provide us the basing we need and give us the access we need," Maj Teeton said. "It's the right distance from the UK and the right distance from Afghanistan, in a safe country."

The exercises are part of the Defence Co-operation Accord, which was signed in 1996, but languished under Britain's former Labour government.

The joint exercise follows the first state visit since 1979 of Queen Elizabeth II, who was also accompanied by William Hague, the British foreign secretary. The defence relationship between the two countries was identified as a top priority for the UK-UAE Task Force, established under Britain's new coalition government to bolster political, trade and military relations.

Lt Gen Simon Mayall, the deputy chief of Defence Staff, led a visit to the UAE and met earlier in the year with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

UAE and Britain join forces for training exercise

 

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Pilots gear up for Al Khanjar​

Wing Commander Paul Moss says the seven-tonne radar of the Awacs is like "flying a 707 with an elephant strapped to the back, and it doesn't even notice".
Andrew Henderson / The National


AL DHAFRA AIR BASE // The roar of jets flying overhead faded into a distant thunder as the Emirati F-16s and Mirage fighters rocketed towards the horizon.

The British RAF pilots and their Emirati partners were gearing up for Air Khanjar, or "dagger" in Arabic. The military training exercise mainly consisted of battle scenarios acted out over the skies of the UAE.

Wing Commander Paul Moss, the commander of the RAF's 8 Squadron, led the team that flew the E-3D Sentry surveillance plane, which oversaw the operation.

Wing Commander Moss pointed out the plane's seven-tonne, nine-metre diameter radar disc.

"It's like flying a [Boeing] 707 with an elephant strapped to its back, and it doesn't even notice," he said.

The plane, an Airborne Warning and Control System (Awacs), can fly up to 12.8km in altitude.

Working with the UAE Air Force allowed the RAF to expose areas that needed work, but Al Dhafra Air Base also provided good weather and airspace conditions for training, he said.

"Operating with another air force that has slightly different ways of doing business, it's always an education for us," he said. "What's really good about a place like this is the conditions. I really mean the conditions for the airplanes. They really like this kind of humidity and this kind of heat."

"Bearing in mind last night in the UK they had 10 centimetres of snow," he added, laughing.

The Air Warfare Centre, which the UAE bills as a premier centre for training fighter pilots, also provided ample airspace for exercises.

"The Air Warfare Centre here is very proactive in co-ordinating with the local air traffic agencies, so they provide large blocks of airspace, which is key to facilitating this kind of exercise," he said.


The Awacs can get into place to survey exercises with a lot of complex manoeuvring, he said.

"If you are constrained by airspace… the UK is one of the most congested in the world - you don't have that freedom," he said.

For the UAE, the opportunity to work with another air force was "a chance for them to see how robust their training is", said Wing Commander Jez Attridge, the commanding officer of the 906 Expeditionary Force of the RAF, which took part in the exercise. "And from what we've seen, their training is as deep and as complicated as ours."

He said the abilities of the UAE Air Force appeared "very impressive".

"They've got a very flexible approach to the task that they're in, they adapt well to the circumstances while flying with us, and they have excellent weapons systems that complement the Eurofighter Typhoons, so it was a very seamless transition," he said.

The exercises included mixed fighter training, in which Emirati F-16s and Mirages fought in air combat scenarios alongside British Typhoons. The Sentry aircraft watched over the exercises and communicated with their planes, giving them instructions and determining who won the combat scenarios.

The Awacs also set up a link with HMS Cumberland, a navy frigate, and passed down images and information of the surroundings that boosts the awareness of the ship.

"In intense air warfare [...] it's really quite busy," he said. "It's something like the London Stock Exchange in here."




Pilots gear up for Al Khanjar

 

[Al Bhatti]

June 29, 2011

5 UK ships reach UAE for joint military drill

Official denies exercises related to Iran

Five Royal Navy warships will launch a series of amphibious and land-based exercises — called Sea Khanjar — with the UAE armed forces this week. The military manoeuvres will continue until July 6.

The Royal Navy's Response Task Force Group, which is led by the HMS (His Majesty's Ship) Albion, the flagship of the Royal Navy, left the United Kingdom in early April heading East. Before anchoring in Abu Dhabi, it supported Nato operations off Libya and conducted similar maritime exercises in Muscat.

"We live in uncertain times at the moment and securing our sea and land communications are key to maritime protection," said Commodore Tim Fraser, Royal Navy's UK Maritime Component commander, told reporters who were invited on board the HMS Albion for a press briefing.

Naval training

The UK-UAE naval training comes at a time when Iran is also conducting its own round of ground, naval and missile exercises.

"This exercise is not related to Iran," Commodore Fraser said when asked about the timing of the UK naval presence in the Gulf region. "The message we send is that we're operating with our partners in the Gulf and the UAE to exercise the capabilities that have been outlined," he said. "There's definitely a reassurance to the Gulf countries of our commitment to this region."

Captain James Morley, HMS Albion's Commanding Officer, said that these exercises have evolved over time. "The specifics are sometimes just the ability to communicate together and have a staff working together so that when we do anything for real for whatever reason it might be, it's not the first time we've picked up the phone and it's not the first time we've communicated with each other's ships and it's not the first time we've worked together."

Following its stop in Abu Dhabi, the Royal Navy Task Group will head back home via the Suez Canal, unless maritime security issues necessitate a change of course.

gulfnews : 5 UK ships reach UAE for joint military drill