'Exercise Crown Condor'
R.A.F Fairford
Exercise Crown Condor took place at R.A.F Fairford in Gloucestershire between 6th and 16th October 2008. The first aircraft arrived on Thursday 2nd October in the form of three SAAB JAS.39 Gripens from the Royal Swedish Air Forces 17 Wing based at Ronneby. These were subsequently followed by a further four Gripens and a number of PANAVIA Tornado GR.4's from
12(B) Squadron Royal Air Force at R.A.F Lossiemouth in Scotland.
R.A.F personnel were drawn from accross the U.K to set up a Deployed Operating Base (DOB) to accommodate the aircraft and it was a particularly important exercise for the Tornado squadron as it acted as a full mission rehearsal for its forthcoming deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Herrick, which commences 1st January 2009. The Royal Swedish Air Force element took part under the Partnership for Peace Programme with NATO and enabled them to gain experience operating with another nation.
Exercise Crown Condor was part of a much larger tri-service exercise taking place concurrently called Joint Warrior (JW082). This was running over a two week period in Europe and involved armed forces from nine different countries.
The first aircraft to arrive for Crown Condor was the sole JAS.39D serial number 39823 from F.17 Wing at Ronneby
The Swedish contingent was led by Lt. Col. Anders Segersby of 171 Squadron and included six JAS.39C aircraft along with one JAS.39D twin-stick. The JAS.39 Gripen is a fourth generation multi-role fighter that was first flown in December 1988 and entered the Swedish Air Force in 1997. The JAS designation stands for Jakt (Air to Air), Attack (Air to Surface) and Spanning (Reconnaissance), indicating the Gripen's true multi-role capabilities.
171 Squadron is one of two assigned to F.17 Wing at Ronneby and has flown the Gripen since 2002, having previously flown the SAAB A32 Lansen, the J35 Draken and JA37 Viggen. Having flown the original JAS.39A/B it converted to the more advanced JAS.39C/D in 2004. Some 100 personnel from the Swedish Air Force attended Crown Condor, of which 18 were pilots.
JAS.39C number 39209 sits in the sun at Fairford awaiting another mission on 9th October 2008
During their time operating from R.A.F. Fairford 171 Squadron flew as previously mentioned in support of Exercise Joint Warrior.
In the first week of missions they conducted mainly close air support (CAS) over Wales in support of ground forces. These generally lasted around one hour. They also flew interdiction missions to the Spadeadam Range in Cumbria. These were generally longer sorties and lasted around two hours in total, of which about 20 minutes were actually 'on range'.
Lieutenant Colonel Segersby, the commander of 171 Squadron told us that no live weapons were fired during their time in the U.K. as there were restrictions placed upon them by the Americans, who control R.A.F Fairford. They insisted that no explosive materials were to be stored or carried during the deployment at Fairford and that meant that even flares could not be used on the Gripens. Therefore all weapons 'fired' were of the simulated kind.
During the second week of operation they had plans afoot to take on the R.A.F's Typhoon in Disimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) and Lt. Col. Segersby told me he was very much looking forward to that. He said 'the opportunity to put ourselves up against the latest fighter in the RAF inventory, and one of the most potent air to air combat fighters in the world today was something to look forward to'
(Lt. Col. Anders Segersby, Commander 171 Sqn RSwAF)
39267 and 39221 sit in the afternoon sun at Fairford
Head on shot of 39267 showing a load of three drop tanks and a Litening GIII pod under the starboard fuselage
39229 gets marshalled back to its parking spot after an afternoon mission
SAAB JAS.39C Gripen taxying out for a mission on 9th October 2008
Having just landed the drop tanks and Litening pod are removed from 39230
As mentioned earlier the Gripens used the Rafael Litening GIII FLIR/LDP pod whilst operating from Fairford.
The Litening III is a third generation Forward Looking Infra-red and Laser Designator Pod, designed to detect, recognise, identify, track and engage ground targets in all weathers day and night.
Pilots can designate targets by laser for attack by other aircraft or by precision guided weapons carried on board such as Laser Guided Bombs (LGB's). Identification of aerial targets from BVR is also available. Electronic image stabilisation is incorporated to give clearer images of designated targets.
Minimal maintenance is required and as no alignment prior to a mission is necessary it can be easily switched from one airframe to another.
39267 taxies out for a mission with a Litening pod visible on the forward fuselage pylon, just below the air intake
171 Squadron pilot climbs into the cockpit of a Gripen Swedish Force Protection
The Royal Air Force contingent as mentioned previously was made up of 12(B) Squadron based at R.A.F Lossiemouth, although aircraft present were drawn from a variety of RAF squadrons. Control of the unit came under the auspices of the 140th Expeditionary Air Wing (140 EAW), one of nine such wings within the Royal Air Force. Group Captain Alistair Monkman DFC (Commander Lossiemouth), a Gulf War veteran and one of the few non-U.S personnel to have piloted a F-117 Stealth Fighter told us that Crown Condor was the culmination of a six month work up to their deployment in Afghanistan commencing January 2009.
The EAW can trace its origins back to the Second World War when they were established so that the R.A.F could project Allied air power all around the world. They pretty much came to an end during the Cold War period, but have seen a dramatic shift back since then. Around 250 personnel made up 140 EAW from all corners of the Royal Air Force and it's Gaelic motto of 'Daonnan Air Ghleus' translates to 'Ready for Anything' and sums up the EAW perfectly.
ZD843 wearing 15 Squadron markings taxies out for a late afternoon mission as part of a two-ship
ZD847 taxies back to the DOB after another successful mission
The PANAVIA Tornado GR.4 is the latest version of an aircraft that dates back to 1974. The aircraft entered R.A.F service as the GR.1 version in June 1979 as a low level strike fighter. It also operates with the German, Italian and Saudi Air Forces as the Tornado IDS (Interdictor Strike). A total of 142 aircraft were upgraded to GR.4 standard between 1997 and 2002.
The variable geometry, two seat, day or night, all-weather attack aircraft is powered by two Rolls-Royce RB.199 turbofans and is capable of low-level supersonic flight. It utilises a terrain-following radar at low level when visibility is poor and has forward looking infra-red (FLIR) combined with night vision goggle (NVG) capability. For ground targets it can utilise a Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designation pod (TIALD 500) or Litening III for LGB delivery. All GR.4 aircraft can carry the Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile (ALARM) for suppression of enemy air defences and for self protection carries two AIM-9L Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and a 27mm Mauser cannon. The new RAPTOR pod (Reconnaissance Airborne Pod TORnado) is currently coming on line and is one of the most advanced recce pods in the world, providing real-time, long-range oblique-photography data to ground stations or to the cockpit.
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ZG727 in 617 Squadron 'Dambusters' markings winds down at the end of another mission from Fairford