01 Feb 23. VP-10 completes eight-day joint exercise with Sri Lankan forces. CARAT/MAREX saw participation of Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Navy, USMC and USS Anchorage. The Red Lancers of Patrol Squadron (VP) 10 completed the eight-day joint exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT)/Marine Exercise (Marex) with the defence forces of Sri Lanka. The exercise, which was wrapped up on 26 January, is held annually in the island nation.
It commenced on 19 January in Sri Lanka’s capital city Colombo.
The participants in the Carat/MAREX included the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Navy’s San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock vessel USS Anchorage (LPD 23).
This exercise is intended to boost interoperability with partners and to effectively tackle maritime security challenges across the Indo-Pacific region.
The annual exercises also offer an opportunity to promote regional security and bolster global partnerships by operating in a shared mission and environment.
SLN deputy chief of staff/director of general operations rear admiral Pradeep Rathnayake said: “I believe each event perfectly reflects the excellent collaboration between our forces and emphasises our partnership in promoting regional security, combining knowledge, skill and understanding of goals, cultures and ideals.”
During this year’s CARAT/MAREX, a variety of exercises were undertaken that included air defence, gunnery, small boat operations, humanitarian assistance, and force protection between the SLN/SLAF and USN/USMC.
VP-10 Tactical Coordinator Lt. j.g. Jeremy Ross said: “It was a distinct pleasure working with our Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force partners in support of CARAT/MAREX Sri Lanka 2022.
“Over the course of the exercise, we strengthened our ability to operate in a coordinated environment while sharing our respective expertise and procedures. It provided an opportunity for many unique experiences that served to improve the capabilities for all participants.”
Based in Jacksonville, Florida, US, the Red Lancers are presently operating from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.
As part of a rotational deployment to the US 7th Fleet area of operations, this squadron undertakes maritime patrol and reconnaissance, besides theatre outreach operations.
7th Fleet is the largest forward-deployed numbered fleet of the US Navy.
It regularly operates with allies and partners in keeping the Indo-Pacific region free and open. (Source: naval-technology.com)
30 Jan 23. India and Japan conclude air defence exercise Veer Guardian 23. The exercise allowed participating forces to undertake complex air drills in several simulated scenarios. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that the Indian and Japanese air forces have completed the bilateral air defence exercise Veer Guardian 2023.
The maiden iteration of this joint exercise was held between 12 and 26 January from the Hyakuri Air Base in Japan.
The exercise involved the participation of the Japan Air Self-Defence Force’s (JASDF) four F-2 multi-role attack jets and four F-15 fighter aircraft.
Deployed air assets from the Indian Air Force (IAF) included a contingent of four Su-30 MKI aircraft, one Ilyushin Il-78 in-flight refuelling tanker and two C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift transport aircraft.
As part of this training event, the aircraft from both air forces carried out a wide range of extensive and complex air drills in different simulated operational environments.
Throughout the exercise, which lasted for a total of 16 days, participating personnel from the IAF and JASDF engaged in the ‘precise planning and skilful execution’ of comprehensive exercises and scenarios.
It included interception and air defence operations, as well as other air combat missions conducted in both visual and beyond visual range settings. IAF and JASDF personnel also performed various ground interactions to discuss and exchange a variety of concepts. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
30 Jan 23. AERALIS announces signing of Memorandum of Understanding with AirTanker. AERALIS™, the transformational British military jet developer, has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AirTanker to evaluate opportunities for an aircraft service offering in the light fast jet defence market. Following AERALIS’ recent award of a multi-m pound digital engineering services contract from the UK Ministry of Defence, the MoU with AirTanker will assess upcoming contracts in military flying training and also defence operational training and combat air support roles. AERALIS and AirTanker will examine models with the capability to transform the full spectrum of fast jet pilot training, enhancing efficiency throughout the training pipeline and ensuring customers receive the scale and quality of aircrew required to operate tomorrow’s front-line combat air systems.
The MoU covers a range of services that AirTanker can offer, such as collaboration with overseas partners and establishing local service provision. The MoU will involve the sharing of information and regular progress updates, as well as joint workshops to explore future collaboration opportunities. The agreement aims to use the AERALIS programme to achieve significantly lower financing, acquisition and operating costs for aircraft compared to incumbents, paving the way for enabling a wide range of ‘on-demand’ operational air support services as part of the future of air force fleets.
This follows on from a successful year for AERALIS. The British jet developer signed partnerships with several companies building towards the ultimate delivery of the aircraft, including Thales UK, Atkins, Siemens, Martin-Baker and Hamble Aerostructures. AERALIS also signed an MoU with Rolls-Royce to explore initial and future options to meet the company’s propulsion requirements, and opened its first facility, the AERALIS Enterprise Hub, in the Bristol Defence & Aerospace cluster earlier this year. AERALIS is currently in Phase Two of a three-year contract with the Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.
AirTanker is a flexible and responsive world leading aviation service provider. The company’s capability spans across end-to-end maintenance, military and civil flying programmes, training and major aircraft upgrades. In 2008, AirTanker signed a 27-year contract with the Ministry of Defence to deliver and support 14 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, which operate as Voyager while in RAF service.
AirTanker’s CEO Phill Blundell said: “We are excited to be collaborating with the AERALIS team on this transformative programme and bring our expertise of supporting and delivering complex military operating solutions into the project at this developmental stage.”
AERALIS’s founder & CEO Tristan Crawford commented: “AERALIS is delighted to have signed this Memorandum of Understanding with AirTanker, marking an important step in AERALIS going to market not only with a transformational aircraft system but also with a disruptive aircraft service offering. In the coming years this will have the potential to transform the operating economics of defence light jet aviation, releasing sorely needed capacity and capability for military customers across a number of domains.”