Jets take on new role for military exercise

Fighter jets from Moray joined allies from across the world in a large-scale military exercise over the North Sea yesterday.

Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth performed the role of the “enemy” in the operation, which involved simulated aerial battles.

The pilots tested the skills of F-35 jets from the UK, the Netherlands and America’s Marine Corps and air force ahead of their deployment to the HMS Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier.

Group Captain Chris Layden, station commander of RAF Lossiemouth, said: “Our Typhoons have played a different role in this iteration of Exercise Point Blank.

“Our Typhoons have played a different role in this exercise”

“They acted as the aggressors against the fifth-generation F-35s from the RAF, US Marine Corps and Royal Netherlands Air Force.

“They simulated the tactics and threats of our adversaries while challenging their colleagues in a series of complex air-to-air battles that tested the skills of pilots involved and pushed these world class aircraft to their limits.”

Exercise Point Blank is a regular quarterly exercise in the UK involving the RAF and the US Air Force.

The drill was the first to be done by the American squadron following its arrival at RAF Marham in Norfolk and a period of isolation to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said: “Flying alongside three fellow Nato nations over and around the UK in a complex war fighting scenario involving more than 50 aircraft is exactly the sort of training that keeps our RAF sharp.”