Exercise Swift Fuel

[Jamie]

EXERCISE SWIFT FUEL
Security Classification: TOP SECRET

SITUATION REPORT

Location RAF Brize Norton and UK Air Space. Duration 3 days Day 1 Overview of Exercise Detailed briefing on refuelling and safety procedures. Presentation on the specifications of attending aircraft. Static walkthrough of the TriStar and attending Polish Aircraft. Review of emergency protocols and communication procedures. Day 2 Pre-flight briefings for both RAF and PAF crews. Tanker and fighter aircraft depart RAF Brize Norton and make for designated AAR Zones. Each fighter aircraft to practice a minimum of two dry contacts to ensure proper alignment and procedural adherence. RAF Fighters to use PAF Tankers, vice versa. Mid-exercise debrief to discuss initial observations on the dry contact and provide any feedback. Each fighter aircraft to then commit to carrying out at least 3 wet contacts. Day two debrief and rest before night exercise. Day 3 Aircraft departs from RAF Brize Norton at 1am and make for designated AAR Zones. Each fighter aircraft to practice a minimum of two dry contacts to ensure proper alignment and procedural adherence. RAF Fighters to use PAF Tankers, vice versa. Mid-exercise debrief to discuss initial observations on the dry contact and provide any feedback. Each fighter aircraft to then commit to carrying out at least 3 wet contacts. Crews stood down to rest with the final debrief taking place at 1030. Comprehensive debrief held at 1030 at RAF Brize Norton for all participating personnel to conclude the exercise.

BELLIGERENTS

BLUFOR United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Kingdom of Poland OPFOR Not Applicable.

ORDER OF BATTLE

Royal Air Force [4] Lockheed TriStar KC1. No. 54 Squadron [12] Panavia Tornado GR-4. No. 3 Squadron, A Flight (Initially planed to be Typhoons but changed due to operational requirements) Polish Air Force [3] CC-150T(A310 MRTT) Tankers [12] MiG-29M aircraft

CAMPAIGN REGISTER

Operation	Objective	Status
Exercise Swift Fuel AUG 2004 -	Air to air refuelling exercise between the UK and Poland ManBear .	Pending Arrivals

 

[ManBear]

Operation Swift Fuel
Secured and Encrypted TOP SECRET​

21st Tactical Air Base	40th Tactical Aviation Wing		12x MiG-29M; 12x Pilots
8th Transport Aviation Base	13th Aviation Squadron		3x CC-150T(A310 MRTT); 6x Pilots; 3x Flight Crew

Upon notification of departure from the base, the joint squadron would insure their planes were mechanically sound and fully fueled before before the fully rested pilots would undergo pre-flight checks while the tankers were loaded with enough fuel to allow the twelve MiG-29M fighters to arrive at their destination at RAF Brize Norton safely. From there the transportation squadron would leave from their airbase near Krakow and given time for them to fly in formation over Europe towards their destination. The crew would undergo their own in-flight refueling over Amsterdam to allow them to arrive at their destination of Brize Norton safely. The aircraft flew without offensive missiles, though they maintained that their 30mm autocannon was loaded with 150 rounds per MiG-29M and all countermeasures were loaded to insure their safety during transit. The remaining airbases would also be placed on alert alongside the remaining refueling aircraft to insure a QRF was ready to go should the flight encounter troubles during transit over Europe.

Once they were within the jurisdiction of the British air traffic controllers, the pilots of all aircraft would carefully and politely relay the information back to the controllers to insure proper understanding and confirmation before performing any actions. This would also allow them to demonstrate their professionalism during the transit while also showing their aptitude at their job.

Transit: KO-JO-IO
Jamie

 

[Jamie]

Air Traffic Controllers from the UK ensured to support the movement by the Polish Airforce tactfully, ensuring they had an optimum and easy route into RAF Brize Norton which would be their home for a few days. Their approaches into Brize Norton showed a demonstration of the UK military's main global hub with arrays of C-130J-30s, C-17s and Tri-Stars lined up on their respective ramps giving an indication as to the scale of the mission that's held at Brize. Upon their landing, the crews from the CC-150Ts and MIG-29Ms were introduced to ground staff who were there to support their aircraft with fuel or any other supplies during their stay and provided them with a tour of their accommodation block on-site during the exercise. There was little time to waste as the heads of the Exercise sought to commence it immediately after the induction which lasted around 45 minutes. The opportunity was there to have breakfast with their RAF Counterparts, with those from the TriStar fleet intending to work closely with them.

During breakfast, roars erupted overhead as the Royal Air Force fighter contingent of 12 Tornados begun their overhead breaks and descents into landing where they were guided to the ramps beside the Migs. Once settled, the crews from the Polish and Royal Air Force were summoned to a large conference room for the initial opening of the exercise. This would discuss the plan for the next 3 days, run through detailed briefing on refuelling and safety procedures before finalizing the presentation with the specifications of attending aircraft. It served as a useful opportunity to get a better understanding of each others capabilities, build up an initial rapport and have an awareness of what was to come. The initial overview lasted the entire morning and unless there were any questions, those involved could depart for lunch.

RAF crews were encouraged to spend that time with the Polish to incorporate them into the conversation, using it as an opportunity to share experiences, learn about one another on a more personal level and even have a laugh. Although the exercise in its nature was serious, relationship building is as equally important. The afternoon was slightly more engaging then been talked at, it consisted of an aircrew from the TriStar Fleet giving a full walk through the aircraft and an explanation of how it works. Followed by the same static tour of the Tornado GR4 which had arrived that morning. It was hoped the tour of the static aircraft would be offered by the Polish Air Crews but if not, the end of the first day focused on a review of emergency protocols and communication procedures. The key was to ensure that all squadrons could safely and competency carry out air to air refuelling regardless of the airframes they're operating on. Fortunately, day one consisted of the least attractive element of the exercise which meant day 2 and 3 was guaranteed to be more involved. ManBear

 

[ManBear]

Polish pilots would follow the orders from the British air traffic controllers and would repeat back their instructions to them per regulation to insure there was no lapse in communication due to a language barrier. At the approach to Brize Norton, Polish forces would make a remark on their own communication channels comparing the activity of the large base towards their own home bases back in Poland. The aircraft present showed a similarity to the ones back home. While Poland was not considered a world power, it had the reach of one through its air and naval power. After landing, Polish forces would greet the ground crews cheerily and give them a brief rundown on the aircraft and anything mechanical they felt would need to be looked at by the ground crews during the flight over before moving on to the tour of their accommodations. The Polish pilots would readily take the opportunity to have breakfast with the crews they would be working with closely.

The Polish pilots would listen to the briefing and offer any information regarding their capabilities and weaknesses when asked. The Polish pilots would not have any questions in regards to the briefing or safety procedures as they would most likely be pretty standard and compare to the same ones Poland had for their own pilots.

The Poles would readily join in on the conversations with the British pilots. They had been informed before leaving that while they were here to learn how to cooperate with their British compatriots, they were alos there as ambassadors for Poland. During the tours of the TriStars and the Tornado GR4s, the Polish Pilots would ask questions that would regard to the capabilities of the aircraft they would be flying with. Cruising speed, top speed, altitudes. They would also ask the British pilots about their own stories regarding flying and if they had served on any combat missions. They would tell their own stories regarding training exercises and funny and interesting stories about themselves and compatriots. While the MiG-29Ms had a relative veteran status within the PRAF, the CC-150Ts were remarkable newer and thus the Polish CC-150T pilots were significantly greener than the MiG pilots who had undergone several combat training exercises. They would answer any questions regarding their aircrafts, having been required to read the manuals for the aircraft upon being selected as Pilots for them.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

Throughout day one, cameras from Forces News remained nearby to document the vital exercise that saw British and Polish forces exercising together for the first time since the Memorandum of Understanding in Defence. Something that should continue to develop in years to come and hopefully be the first of many. Despite mostly theory and looking around one another's aircrafts, the main benefits of the day were focused on the relationship between air crews which would no doubt make it easier to support one another in practical elements but also show how personnel from other countries can meet and get along without issue. One of the Tornado pilots who had been 'showing-off' his aircraft described his role in the war with Turkey only a few years ago. Explaining his role of carrying out a bombing raid on significant military targets which made the Tornado one of the most experienced airframes in recent history as far as combat is concerned.

Day one came to a surprisingly quick conclusion and day two begun early. Crews were informed the night before to be up for 5am and initial briefings begin at 7am. This was ample time to get ready, have breakfast and make for the briefing which contained a basic summary of what was discussed the prior day, incorporating health and safety, a quick refresher on procedures but no time was wasted. The focus for now was to get airborne. The United Kingdom has 14 air to air refuelling zones, these are designated training areas that are booked in advance. For the exercise, 7 of the refuelling zones had been booked. This would allow each refuelling area to have a single tanker from either the Royal or Polish Air Forces and a combined number of 14 fighter aircraft to alternative between them and carry out a refuel. These designations were given out first:

AAR Zone 1: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 2: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 3: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 4: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 5: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 6: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 7: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s

The designated stations were split across the entire country to allow a commute time to be taken to consume fuel and all fighters were given clearance to practice in the low level flying areas; something the Tornados made sure to take up by exploring routes through the Lake District and the Welsh Valleys of the Mach Loop. With all briefings complete and any questions made sure to be answered, it was just a matter of getting airborne. Fighter aircraft were first to depart with the RAF Pilots departing Brize in quick succession. One the Mig-29Ms had left, the Lockheed TriStar would follow and then the Polish Tankers were free. The closest zone was area 1 which was a standard RAF refueling procedure between a TriStar and Tornados and they'd got straight to work. Each of the three aircraft were to commence two dry contacts, two at a time. The third was assessing and offered feedback before rotating between the entire flight. This would repeat until midday with initial briefings had confirmed that the morning remained dry-contacts only.

Once the other RAF Tankers were in place, the Polish could begin their approaches. Meanwhile, the Tornados accompanying zone 4 and 6 made use of the time to conduct their low level flying until the Polish Tankers were in the AO. ManBear

 

[ManBear]

The MiG-29Ms, the pilots having reviewed the plan presented towards them amongst themselves before leaving, would depart RAF Brize Norton. Each of the Pilots flying their MiG-29Ms would have various experiences performing low and high level flying would also take the opportunity, should they receive permission from ATC to perform the maneuvers, would practice their own low flying maneuvers utilizing their Zhuk-ME radar's terrain following radar aspect. This would allow them to follow the terrain safely, while the Pilot maintained high enough altitude to avoid harder to detect manmade objects such as cell towers and power pylons. This would all depend on whether British air traffic controllers granted them permission to do so, if permission was denied the Pilots would follow the high altitude flying plan previously established on their route to the establish AAR zones.

The CC-150T tankers would follow the primary flight plan to get to their established zone of conduct, not wanting to risk the expensive Canadian aircraft in order to perform maneuvers to impress their British counterparts.

Once in the designated zones, the Polish aircraft would begin preparations for the dry runs with their British counterparts. The CC-150Ts would extend their hoses and insure they were safe to operate by examining the inflight systems before stating they were ready to commence dry-contact runs to the British Tornados.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

Air Traffic Controllers from across the UK ensured safe transit for both the military and commercial aviation taking place during the busy period. Despite the busier-then-usual skies, the request for low level flight of the Polish MiGs were granted with the exception been over cities or towns. A combined effort of 31 British and Polish Aircraft operating together was considered quite a feat, given the lack of exposure to such operations in recent history. Pilots and Air Crew alike made sure to take all the necessary precautions and found communication wasn't as big of a challenge as expected. With the Lockheed Martin TriStars in position, they spoke over short range radio to their receiving pilots whether that was British or Polish to give guidance and assist them in their approaches to the drogues that followed behind the tanker aircraft.

Meanwhile, the RAF Tornados made their manoeuvres with the desire of having one-hit wonders on a dry run. Following completion of each fighter conducting two dry-runs, all aircraft were requested to break off for a mid-air review. This consisted of all pilots including that of the tanker discussing any tips, any issues encountered and generally focused on making the next time work better. Providing no safety issues occurred, the exercise could continue into the early afternoon where wet contacts could take place. This consisted of the fighters carrying out a successful air to air refuel in which a similar process would take place, refuel three times and if successful, return to base to rest for the afternoon as the same objectives would happen throughout the night.

One by one, the Tornados across all AAR zones would complete their objective. A few pilots took extra attempts but with no safety concerns, it was considered successful. ManBear

 

[ManBear]

With communication being the least of their worries, like had been anticipated, the Polish pilots were able to focus entirely on their flights to ensure the safety of the crew members, the general public, and the refueling pilots of British and Polish origins. During the dry contact runs, the Polish fighter pilots would follow the instructions of the British and Polish refueling pilots to the letter as they performed their runs. Much like the British pilots, the Polish pilots' goals were to impress their British counterparts by having successful runs in one attempt. While they did not have the combat experience of the British pilots, each of the Polish pilots had received an extensive amount of training during their initial induction into the PRAF and then later during flight exercises. Each pilot was qualified pilots with experience flying high altitude, low altitude, and night time all while performing defensive and offensive actions.

During the mid-air review with the British pilots, the Polish would offer their own tips and tricks to the refueling they discovered during the flight. They would also make mental notes of any tips offered by their British counterparts.

During the wet runs, the Polish pilots would take a little extra care in their refueling efforts when refueling with the unfamiliar TriStars as they had little experience with the aircraft or the Pilots prior to this. Once the three wet runs were successful, the Polish pilots would return via the set flight path for the afternoon debrief and rest before the night refueling actions.

The MiG-29s across the AAR zones would take extra care during refueling attempts with the TriStars due to being unfamiliar with the pilots and the aircraft themselves, while the CC-150T pilots would provide extra input when required for the Tornado pilots. While this served as a learning scenario for both nation's pilots, none of them wanted to risk equipment or personnel with unsafe actions. Loadmasters who monitored the refueling probes would be cautious during refueling and were ready to wave of approaching pilots if it was deemed unsafe. That had not been required during the refueling attempts and the Polish commander would agree with the assessment of a successful refueling operation.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The increased presence of the Royal and Polish Air Force Tankers and Bombers no doubt received much interest from those fascinated by aviation enthusiasts who observed them from public radar systems or having observed them land or take off from their bases. Prior to the attempts by the Polish fighters, the TriStar crew gave their own advice following their experiences providing a petrol station in the sky based on how their aircraft would react as they approached the basket. Fortunately, no negatives came away from the day session and all pilots had carried out successful refuelling. Not long after the final wet run, aircraft begun their arrival back at Brize with a break-and-land demonstrated by the Tornados first, followed by the Tri-Star. Each been navigated by ground control to their designated areas. This would occur for the return of all air assets involved in Exercise Swift Fuel.

Only when all aircraft were grounded and air crew present, would a full debrief take place. This allowed for each member to offer some positive and constructive feedback on how the day had gone and some learning points that everyone may benefit from. The debrief would last around 45 minutes, if not slightly over due to the amount of personnel involved. At this point, crews were dismissed to go get food, relax and sleep before the continuation begins at 1am in which the same was to occur with one major difference -- in the dead of night. The Royal Air Force squadrons made sure to be at their aircraft in time for a 1am launch after spending the evening sleeping or playing some games -- encouraging their Polish counterparts to participate in some 1v1 on FIFA on the play station. Others, preferred physical sports such as football, tennis and basketball. Naturally, the Polish were invited to any that happened.

1am came quick and without the need of a full brief, the Royal Air Force Tornados took the skies followed by the tankers. The same groups applied but with each aircraft at a different zone:

AAR Zone 1: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 2: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 3: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 4: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 5: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados, 3 MIG29s
AAR Zone 6: Polish Air Force Tanker, 3 Tornados
AAR Zone 7: Royal Air Force Tanker, 3 MIG29s

Once in the area of operations, the fun could begin again with Tornados beginning their immediate dry runs, taking advantage of night vision capabilities to assist them. ManBear