RAF A400M flights keep British military operations across Middle East supplied

A detachment of the RAF's Air Mobility Force is forward-based in the Middle East region as part of the UK's contribution to Operation Shader and Operation Kipion.

The detachment currently includes a Voyager and an A400M, flying regular supply runs known as the Middle East Intra-Theatre Transport Service, or MITS.

Flights set off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where the aircraft is prepared for its sortie.

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Freight is loaded by a combined team from the Joint Movements Squadron and the UK Mobile Air Movements Squadron, while the Airfield Support Squadron handles refuelling.

Each flight is supported by a small Air Mobility Protection Team made up of RAF Police and RAF Regiment personnel.

'Bread and butter job'

Describing a MITS flight, one A400M pilot said: "This is a bread and butter job for us, it keeps everything else going and is therefore a very important role, but it is just one of the many tasks that we do on the squadron."

On that flight, the A400M first landed at 902 Expeditionary Air Wing to deliver seven pallets of freight.

It then picked up equipment from a recent Royal Marines exercise for return to the UK.

The next stop was 906 EAW, where the aircraft stayed overnight before completing its round-robin route and returning to Akrotiri.

The aircraft was flown by a mixed crew from 30 and LXX Squadrons, with personnel deployed from RAF Brize Norton for four-week rotations.

Mission-critical logistics

RAF personnel supporting the MITS flights expect to complete several deployments each year, contributing to the UK's enduring presence in the region.

Squadron Leader Hermolle, the Air Mobility Force Detachment Commander in the region, said: "These flights carried out by the A400M are an essential element of the work of the RAF's deployed Air Mobility Force. 

"The flights demonstrate the delivery of Tactical Military Air Transport, which is just one of the ways by which AMF provides a wide range of logistical and mission-enabling capabilities across the globe for defence."