Could you briefly
outline the support capabilities that RAF Lyneham provides
and what the roles are of the operational squadrons at the
base?
Our business here is airlift and, as our mission statement
says, we deliver and support airlift operations globally,
wherever and whenever we are required. That’s provided
primarily by the four flying squadrons that operate C130
Hercules aircraft. 24 and 30 Squadrons operate the C130J –
that’s the new type of Hercules, introduced in 1999.
47 and
70 Squadrons operate the C130K, which is the older variant,
which was purchased and delivered to Lyneham in
1967, so it’s quite an old girl! Together, they really
are our workhorses and provide the backbone of our airlift
capability
across defence. Whilst they are seen as tactical assets, we
prefer to use them in a ‘hub and spoke’ operation
where
strategic airlift brings the freight or passengers into the
hub, and we then use the C130 as the spoke aircraft. Because
of
the general shortage of air transporters in defence, we often
get misused as a strategic asset as well, so we often see
people having to suffer long journeys in the back of a C130
from here directly into theatre. So that’s how we do
it. The
operational roles of the Squadrons are fairly similar; it’s
strategic airlift but it’s also the tactical airlift
element – this
is the delivery of personnel and stores from the aircraft
in the form of airdrop. The airdrop role is very important
and it is a key component of 16 Air Assault Brigade’s
air manoeuvre strategies. In fact, the C130J recently completed
its first operational airdrop in Iraq, where they dropped
vital stores to British troops on patrol.
We’ve seen the recent
return from Pakistan of a number of Lyneham’s Hercules
aircraft, which had been involved in the earthquake relief
effort. Could you discuss the work that they undertook there,
and share any lessons learnt from this experience?
This has been a tremendous operation, and it shows the usefulness
of having these assets on a constant state of high
readiness. We were only given 48 hours’ notice prior
to us deploying three C130s to assist in the humanitarian
airlift
operation. We operated under the auspices of NRF (the Nato
Response Force) as opposed to UK PLC.
Our Hercules were based in Turkey where the aid from around
the world was gathered, broken down and then placed aboard
our aircraft. We flew from there directly into Islamabad where,
with the help of our UKMAMS (Mobile Air Movements) personnel,
the stores were sorted and distributed by road and helicopter
to where they were most urgently needed. The task now complete,
I welcomed the crews home recently. These three aircraft provided
25% of the total airlift into Pakistan, and they carried over
450 tonnes of food, shelters, and basic welfare and survival
equipment to help the Pakistani people get over this terrible
event.
With winter approaching, they were particularly glad to
receive the blankets and accommodation that we provided, and
the guys really enjoyed performing this type of task. They
see real purpose in this kind of work, and feel that they
are doing some good; as the Secretary of State has given us
a new vision of being a force for good in the world, I think
that the Hercules and its role supports this vision. Our ability
to help strengthen international peace and stability is therefore
a key role for us.
In their role, where moving
supplies into a potentially hostile or hard to reach places
is part of the job description, how are
crews trained to ensure that they can get their supplies to
their destinations even in the most adverse circumstances?
Training is absolutely key, as we cannot just come up with
this capability from nothing – it takes a lot of training
to develop our skills to provide our service. This answer,
I think, links to the previous question as, even in humanitarian
missions, we sometimes fly into areas where the people are
not that keen to see us – defensive aids on the Tactical
Air Transport and Logistics aircraft are essential. In the
past, we treated these as an added extra, much like a CD player
in a car – nice to have, but not integral to the purpose.
This has changed – we cannot now use aircraft in operational
theatres unless they are equipped with defensive equipment.
These aids should now be baseline equipment in new aircraft,
and I say this with the A400M in mind as the aircraft intended
to replace the C130K. That’s a lesson that we’ve
learnt, and it’s now vital to our role to be equipped
with a good defensive aids suite. Crew training is similarly
key – we develop our crews continuously through exercises.
We’ve recently participated in Red Flag over in the
USA and we’re now back again in the States at China
Lake, where we’re operating in a very mountainous region
with a view to preparing for operations in Afghanistan.
Getting our crews to operate in these areas where we can
simulate a high threat environment is very, very important;
we
have, sadly, suffered operational
loss in January this year with the crash of a C130 in
Iraq – something that brings home to everybody the dangers
inherent in what we do.
Do you view the planned closure
of Lyneham and the move of the Squadrons to Brize Norton as
the ideal solution to
meeting the military requirements of the future, or do you
feel that it is, in a sense, a missed opportunity to see how
Lyneham could adapt and excel in changing circumstances?
I think that we could have adapted and excelled
through these changing circumstances, and on a personal level,
I’m sad that the station has to close – I’ve
been here since 1982, where I began my flying days as a young
co-pilot on the Hercules, and most of my subsequent career
has been based here around the Hercules and around RAF Lyneham.
But, times are hard – money is tight and there are definitely
efficiencies to be had. There’s a synergy I think in
operating the Tactical Air Transport fleet with the strategic,
wide bodied fleets.
Brize Norton has better infrastructure and more ‘rattle
room’ than we have here, and so I can see why the decision
was made to move there. We have to be efficient, and I know
that C-in-C Strike has been looking closely at the whole range
of airfields through the Defence Aviation Review Team (DART).
We have to remind ourselves that we were configured for Second
World War/Cold War operations, which is no longer appropriate.
We’re looking closely at the whole airfield estate to
determine where efficiencies can be had by merging roles and
missions that have a synergy in being together. So, whilst
I’m sad, I can see the rationale behind it and I look
to the future of the purpose built air transport base that
Brize Norton will be, complete with tremendous facilities.
The last question, which really
links with a lot of what’s been said, is to ask how
you envisage Britain’s Tactical Air
Transport Force developing in a world of changing tactical
and strategic demands?
I think that Special Forces will certainly
be a growth area for our role – there’s a lot
that we can and do bring to the Special Forces fight. The
improvements in our aircraft’s capabilities in terms
of blind drops and blind landings are of specific use to Special
Forces, and we’re always looking to technology to enhance
our capabilities in these areas.
The C130 is just a brilliant aeroplane – it’s
robust, it can land on appalling surfaces and go anywhere
quickly without a great deal of support. I think that, as
we look at global terrorism and the threats of the future,
having an aircraft that can go anywhere and do anything,
delivering not only logistics support but also a war fighting
capability in the form of assault – both airborne
and airland
– means that we’ll see the aircraft’s uses
continue to develop in the tactical role. On the strategic
side, I think we’ll see increases in the numbers and
uses of the C17 and other heavy airlifters, such as the
A400M, because at present, it is clear that the Armed Forces
simply do not have enough air transport at their disposal.
Source: www.publicservice.co.uk |
