UK Ministry of Defence,
As conditions on the ground in Iraq show steady signs of improvement the RAF are finding innovative ways to carry out reconnaissance missions which in turn are helping land troops to deal with the threat of enemy forces.
RAF Lossiemouth's 12 Squadron have just arrived in the Gulf, replacing 14 Squadron for a two-month detachment carrying out close air support and reconnaissance missions over Iraq.
One of seven fast-jet squadrons that carry out this particular task, 12 Squadron have brought a new capability which is enabling high quality imagery to be delivered in real-time to troops on the ground as well as other customers keen to exploit what is a unique capability within Operation Telic.
The Reconnaissance Airborne POD Tornado (RAPTOR) is one of the most advanced reconnaissance sensors in the world today. It can download real-time, long range, oblique photography to ground stations during a sortie.
Squadron Leader Jon Nixon, one of the 12 Squadron pilots who recently deployed to the Gulf believes the RAPTOR story is only just beginning:
“The thing about RAPTOR and its strategic capability is that it can take a huge amount of imagery in a short space of time,” he said. “It's unusual to have a strategic recce asset on a fast jet platform and it's something we are developing.
“It has passed initial operating capability and we've proved that it can work, we've taken imagery and then passed it to the end users. How I see it developing is that we will start to do that increasingly more often.
“We currently fly a small number of RAPTOR sorties a week but that will increase subject to the need of Land troops on the ground. We're really just trying to assist their requests for information in support of ongoing operations.”
The stand-off range of the sensors also enables the aircraft to remain outside heavily defended areas thus minimising exposure to enemy fire. RAPTOR's ability to link the data to the ground is also proving extremely useful:
“The data is currently linked into Iraq and exploited by imagery analysts there,” Sqn Ldr Nixon said. “That makes it quicker than if we bring the imagery back here. It's our hope that we can get to full operating capability later in the year when we have fully proved it can work and have shown it cuts down the time it takes to process information.”
With a total of five or six Tornado sorties a day being flown the flying programme is tough. The mission process – a combination of close air support to ground troops and reconnaissance means long sorties, some of which can last up to eight hours including refuelling in the air several times. The GR4 itself is a world leader in the specialised field of all-weather, day and night tactical reconnaissance, although it wasn't originally designed for that specific purpose, rather it has evolved as the world has changed:
“The aircraft was designed for the Cold War and is optimised for flying at low level at high speeds to deliver weapons,” Sqn Ldr Nixon continued. “Obviously we've moved on from that quite significantly and the Tornado has too so we now spend almost all of our time at medium level and have done for a number of years.
“So the RAPTOR going onto the aircraft doesn't really affect our day to day operations in terms of what we were doing previously. It's very much a strategic asset – I think I'm also right in saying that RAPTOR has taken on some of the strategic reconnaissance which was previously done by the Canberra, which went out of service in 2006.
“There are currently no plans to put it onto any of our other fast jet aircraft as far as I'm aware. Nor is it something we will see being put on lots of Tornados, it's a strategic asset, a specialised tool used the way operations dictate.”
Of course gathering all the imagery is only one part of the story. Specialists down on the ground must process it and then get it to whoever needs it. Sqn Ldr Nixon recognises the work that involves but is understandably focused on what his job is:
“We just take the imagery, but I know there's a far bigger coalition process going on; tasks are handed to the most suitable platform and if that's us, then we go and take it. We're not necessarily aware of what that imagery is going to be used for, we just decide what is the best way tactically to take that imagery. We spend a lot of time in the planning stage making sure we understand what the user wants so that we can provide them with the best pictures they can get.
“We're aware the pod can gather a lot of information, what really depends then is how much exploitation has to be done on each of the pictures. It's the analysing that takes time, and that is something that the RAF is very good at, but the product our guys produce is probably the best in theatre.”
Keeping the aircraft in the sky
Meanwhile on the ground the heat, dust and wind make it particularly challenging for those whose job it is to keep the aircraft serviceable and ready to fly. The engineers, weapons technicians and other ground support personnel all work hard in extremely demanding conditions to ensure the GR4s can get airborne and carry out their tasks. One of those is Senior Aircraftman Dean Tabreham, 21, a weapons technician who is on his second stint in the Gulf:
“The biggest challenge for us is keeping hydrated while working outside on the aircraft,” he said. “This detachment is more full-on than my last time here but that's good because it really tests and pushes you to the limits of your ability. But, working with the RAPTOR means I'm getting really good experience.”
Chief Technician Ally McLeod, 46, is responsible for the rectification of the aircraft. Last here in 2005, he prioritises and coordinates all the maintenance activity:
“For me it's much the same as it was when I was last here although we are working longer hours here. That said we're supporting operations so everybody has to step up to the plate.”
Although the RAF Tornado GR4s may take off with a plan, what they actually do during a mission can change at very short notice and they have to quickly switch their focus to another task, often over another part of Iraq. The flexibility the crews show is real testament to their training and preparation. Before deploying 12 Squadron personnel spent considerable time with personnel from 7 Armoured Brigade, currently deployed on the ground in Basra, as they prepared for their Iraq deployment with exercises in Canada and Germany:
“Lots of preparation was done to integrate air and land assets,” Sqn Ldr Jon Nixon explained. “I believe this has really helped both to get a better understanding of each other's roles.”
As somebody who flies over Basra fairly regularly, Sqn Ldr Nixon believes he can see significant improvements in the city and he's optimistic for the future:
“Basra today looks much more like a normal city compared to 12 months ago. That's a positive sign and shows real progress.”
