Air International 2021-04
I.Harding - Royal Navy shapeshifters
Air-to-air with two 846 NAS Merlin HC3s during a Merlin Storm training mission on a beach in southwest England
Royal Marines board a CHF Merlin HC3A at Gilze-Rijen Air Base, Netherlands, to participate in a deployed search and rescue (DSAR) exercise with other NATO members; 845 NAS led this mission
Unique formation of five 845 NAS Commando Merlin HC4 and three 847 NAS Wildcat BRH, pictured during a recent exercise
CHF's primary role is to support 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, as illustrated here by 846 NAS operating with a Merlin HC3 during a training exercise at RNAS Yeovilton
846 NAS Merlin HC3 and members of MAOT work together to deliver vital aviation fuel using an air-portable fuel cell in a remote location
Air-to-air with an 845 NAS Merlin HC3A, pictured during CHF's Arctic training deployment to Bardufoss, Norway
Three 845 NAS Commando Merlin HC4s (‘Furious Flight’) prepare to depart HMS ‘Queen Elizabeth’ for home after providing Carrier Strike Group support during initial F-35B Lightning II trials (WESTLANT 18) held off the US eastern seaboard
847 NAS deployed four Wildcats to Bardufoss for Exercise Clockwork 2019 during which eleven pilots and five aircrewmen completed ten EQ sorties, the content of which ranged from day navigation and snow landings to tactical night formation sorties operating in two-ships.
847 NAS Wildcat pictured from the air transiting to the Setermoen range, Norway, to work with troops from the US and Netherlands
Confined landing training is a vital skill that is practised regularly
847 NAS Wildcat BRH operating at low level during a recent Joint Warrior exercise in Scotland
847 NAS has the pre-eminent specialist aircrew to conduct Joint Fires from the air with highly specialised Forward Air Controllers (Airborne) or FAC(A)s. Some of those precision fires are provided by fixed-wing aircraft, which include fifth-gen fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II