The Tornado Unit Is Undergoing An Intensive Program At Nellis AFB

Airmen from the RAF's 13 Squadron are taking part in Exercise Green Flag in America as part of their preparations for operations in Afghanistan later this year. The Tornado unit, which is normally based at RAF Marham in Norfolk, is currently flying out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

The massive desert ranges around the US base covering 15,000 square miles of airspace provide conditions similar to those faced by British forces operating in Helmand province. And the involvement of the United States Air Force at Nellis, which is home to more squadrons than any other American base, provides the experience of working in a multi-national environment that British troops who operate as part of NATOs International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, also encounter.

Wing Commander Howard Edwards, the Officer Commanding 13 Squadron, is a veteran combat pilot who completed more than 100 operational sorties in Iraq. "We are here to do world class close air support training with our US cousins, and basically getting the skills and experience levels up on the crews of 13 Squadron," he said. "In the Afghanistan context close air support is vital for UK troops and the Coalition troops on the ground. In Afghanistan the flying conditions are not ideal, certainly at night it can be much like here which is why again it is good training."

The mountains in Afghanistan can be up to 14-and-a-half thousand feet high, which Edwards says can make for issues flying at night, operating on night vision goggles, with not much light on the ground. "It's very, very dark out there," he said. "It's very taxing for the aircrews especially if they're not that experienced. So it lends itself to us coming here and receiving some good training."

For Flight Lieutenant Oliver Harbridge, a pilot deploying on front line operations for the first time when he goes to Afghanistan with 13 Squadron in the summer, the training is proving invaluable. "Out here certainly is really realistic, it's hot, we're fairly high up altitude wise above sea level, which is similar to Afghanistan," Flt Lt Harbridge said. "We're also training with troops on the ground. These are the same troops that will actually be deployed to Afghanistan at the same time as us so we're basically operating in support of those ground troops, giving them air cover and basically providing any support that they need."

A total of eight Tornado GR4 bombers from what is known as the Marham Wing, one of the largest and busiest units in the RAF, are taking part in Exercise Green Flag.

The aircraft operates in both its attack and reconnaissance role in Afghanistan and 13 Squadron will take over from another Marham Wing unit at Kandahar airbase later this year.

FMI: www.mod.uk