RAF Kinloss - 19th November 2007

With Wg Cdr John Sullivan having taken up a new position with the Air Warfare Centre at the end of his stint as OC6, I was invited up to Scotland to take in the Combined Qualified Weapons Instructors' course that he was responsible for overseeing. My good friend Paul Dunn joined me on the journey.

Having flown up to Aberdeen the previous evening and with JS otherwise engaged, we were asked to meet at the guardroom for 1000. At that stage I don't think either Dunny or myself were aware of the enormity of the event known as 'CQWI'.

CQWI signifies the culmination of a six-month long Qualified Weapons Instructors' Course, the majority of which is done at Squadron level and is type-specific flown to those members of aircrew attending. The first two weeks of the course, however, are made up of a combined ground school where those taking part are made aware of the weapons system packages available across various types, and not limited to just those in use with the Royal Air Force, but also extending into the realms of threat capabilities. At the end of the course, the students would return to their respective Squadrons as fully-fledged QWIs.

Having been greeted by JS, we were taken to the CQWI building and introduced to a number of members of the White Force - principally Air Warfare Centre guys, responsible for the running of the events and ensuring everyone stays safe.

The first thing that struck us was that this was a very finely honed operation, with everything running strictly to the clock. Everyone talks in seconds, rather than minutes, and each briefing commences with a countdown to "hack".

The second thing that hits you is just how many people are involved! Each Squadron involved has their own planning room and then there are several briefing rooms on top.

Although our "late" (in relative terms we arrived three hours after those directly taking part!) arrival meant we missed a number of the early briefings, the full running order became clear on Wednesday morning when we were invited to sit in on the non-sensitive parts.

The first briefing of the day comes at 0745 and is the White Force Brief. This is where the Air Tasking Order (ATO) for the current day is given to the rest of White Force.

Essentially this outlines all of the main points of the coming day's mission, from the objectives, through to specific targets, known enemy aircraft and SAM systems, as well as the prospects for the weather and availability of diversion airfields.

Questions and queries arising out of the ATO are then raised and discussed and all issues are ironed out before the information is passed on to the other agencies involved in the next 'event' of the day.

That event comes at 0800 and is the first Mass Briefing of the day, with representatives from all organisations involved attending, including White Force, Blue Air (and each individual element within), the Met man, Air Liaison officers, Air Traffic, and Intelligence.

After the first Mass Brief a brainstorming session takes place at 0830 where the Blue Air elements are able to raise any issues they have with the ATO, and once resolved they begin to discuss how they intend to achieve those objectives as a package. The session is led by the Mission Commander.

Once the discussions are complete, the flightplans for each element are put together in preparation for the 1100 Deconfliction check.

This essentially sees the flightplans for each element of the package overlapped and with the aid of a computer they can all be played through in 'real-time', thus providing White Force with the opportunity to ensure there are no areas of concern and to make sure everyone stays safe.

Once White Force are happy, the next countdown is to the second Mass Brief scheduled for 1130.

With all of the planning out of the way, this time the brief focuses on exactly how the force have planned to carry out the ATO. This is deemed sensitive, however, and we were not permitted to be present while this was discussed.

As is the norm with this type of COMAO package, the eyes and ears in the sky are generally the first to get airborne and CQWI is no exception, with the crews of the 51 Sqn Nimrod R1 and the 23 Sqn Sentry AEW1 walking to their aircraft way before the smaller pointy things had even begun to think about doing so.

While there is some overlap in the roles the two types are able to undertake, they were used in a complimentary manner here. The Sentry utilised its primary search radar to provide an Airborne Warning and Control service, whereas the R1 (which has no primary search radar) was principally employed in an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) role. RAF Boulmer was on hand to provide backup should the Sentry have 'fallen over' at any stage.

11 Sqn were present with eight Typhoons - seven single seat F2s and one twin-stick T1 (borrowed from 3 Sqn). Their attendance marked the first time the type had been present in a multi-role capacity, and in fact the first week of CQWI saw the Squadron carry out the first in-service drop of a 1000lb Paveway 2 laser guided bomb (LGB).

A 17(R) Sqn T1 example teamed up with a Rafael Litening III laser pod was used to illuminate the target, some 20 miles out in Cardigan Bay on the QinetiQ operated Aberporth weapons range.

It is anticipated that the type will undergo a mark and role redesignation (to T3 and FGR4) imminently, in recognition of this landmark.

With our aims complete on the 11 Sqn line, we made our way back towards the CQWI building just as the 51 Sqn Nimrod was heading the other way.

Our host for the afternoon was to be CCO Dawn McNiven, and we were going to be visiting the main VASS ramp where the remainder of players would operate from.

FR Aviation had a pair of Falcon 20s present. These were used in a number of roles during the fortnight, primarily to supplement Red Air by providing Electronic Warfare and simulating additional Red Air aircraft.

Additionally, one aircraft was used to monitor the mission in real-time, providing a RAIDS readout of all players - making it effectively a White Force asset. This example was also used to simulate C-17 and Hercules aircraft as part of the bigger COMAO package (examples of the real thing are so stretched in real world operational theaters that they could not be spared to take part)

19(R) Sqn from RAF Valley, Anglesey, provided four Hawk T1 aircraft for the course as well as students hoping to qualify as QWIs. They flew Blue Air.

111(F) Sqn from RAF Leuchars, Fife, had five Tornado F3s present including one sporting the badge of 1435 Flt, Mount Pleasant, The Falklands. Again, they flew Blue Air.

By this stage the Falcon 20s were being crewed and were gearing up to move. Like the Sentry and Nimrod, these got airborne before the fast jet components.

In the other direction down the line were eight Harriers - seven GR9/9As and a single T12. They were being operated by 20(R)Sqn from RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire and comprised a mix of students and instructors.

As we reached the end of the line the Falcons started to move off towards the active.

The Nimrod R1 returned shortly after with a minor problem, and the Tornado GR4 boys (and girl) started to prep their jets; 13 Sqn from RAF Marham, Norfolk, provided two aircraft for the duration.

Lossiemouth GR4s flew a few overshoots as the Harrier crews readied their aircraft.

The first fast jet assets to get airborne were the Typhoons, but they did so from the other side of the airfield. From the VASS side, where we were, the action was kicked into play by the Tremblers.

In the time between us shooting the Harriers crewing and the F3s taxying, what little sun that was around had disappeared and as was now becoming a regular theme, that would be the case for the remainder of the day.

Next up were the Harriers. Not very often you see eight of them taxying out together!

Finally the 13 Sqn GR4s, with the crew of the second jet really showing off their tiger spirit!

We wandered over to the line of Hawks and noted that there was very little activity around them, despite the crews being strapped in. After a small amount of probing we learnt that they weren't guaranteed to be involved in the battle and that they would be called for as required. This worked two-fold. As well as providing additional assets to the package if needed, it also meant that the relatively short-legs of the Hawk weren't compromised by getting airborne before they were required.

We reckon we counted no less than ten Kinloss Wing Nimrods around that day - a huge number compared to my previous visits!

With everything airborne we were asked what we'd like to do for the recoveries. By now the weather was really grim and the light had faded to almost nothing, so knowing the recovering Typhoons would have to taxi in past the tower, we asked if we could go up on the balcony there. "Not a problem", was the response.

Out on the ramp adjacent to the tower was a BAe125, a BAe146 and the 51 Sqn Nimrod. There was quite a bit of activity around the 146, and we were treated to this taxying out before the recoveries started.

At the end of the mission there were a few additional items returning to Kinloss. A third FRA Falcon 20 arrived, along with four 100 Sqn Hawks from RAF Leeming. They'd apparently been playing Red Air, along with 56(R)Sqn and 25(F)Sqn Tornado F3s, operating from and recovering to Leuchars and Leeming respectively.

By now the stanchion lighting was just starting to take hold, helping shutter speeds everso slightly, but the more side-on shots were taken on a mere 1/40th of a second. The first pair of recovering Typhoons both extended their airbrakes as they passed us., and the first one proudly displayed glowing 'slime lights'.

As is the norm for such an exercise, the Sentry was the last asset to recover.

With everyone back on the deck we decided this would be a good chance to get out onto the ramp with the tripod. Flt Lt Adam Dickson, a Fighter Controller from Boulmer, was willing to escort us.

Shooting was tough, particularly over the VASS side as the rain, wind and stanchion lighting combined to create lots of flaring, glare and blurring on the images.

While we'd been out on the ramp, the day was still far from over for those involved with the course; the 1630 slot being assigned for air-to-air shot validation, 1645 being reserved for air-to-ground weapon assessments, with a final mass debrief occurring at 1800. There is some scope for these timings to slip slightly, principally if the participants are having to travel back to Kinloss from Lossiemouth by road, but as a general guide, the working day comes to a close at 1930.

It was suggested that almost certainly the most rewarding aspect of each mission was the debrief, and without it they may as well not bother with any of what had gone before.

Those taking part have my utmost respect. The days are long and the events intense.

All in all a very productive and highly enlightening day.

We'd been told that four 15(R)Sqn Tornado GR4s were due at Cape Wrath the following day for live 1000lb drops, and that was where we planned to be, weather permitting.

Huge thanks must be extended to Wg Cdr John Sullivan for the invite, to Gordo and Bob for doing the initial looking after, to Dawn McNiven for the afternoon escorting, everyone in Air Traffic for their assistance and to Flt Lt Adam Dickson for helping us with the night time stuff.