Aircrews and engineers team up on Tamber Shield to keep the Wildcats' rotors whirling
High above the fjords of Norway, Royal Navy Wildcats are being put through their paces on Exercise Tamber Shield.
This sees the pilots of 815 Naval Air Squadron take to the air several times a day to hone their skills and develop their force protection and search-and-destroy tactics.
While the aircrews are the ones who are at the forefront of delivering the Royal Navy's operational capability, there's a whole team on the ground working to support them on their mission.
The Wildcats are really being put through their paces on this exercise, but that means a lot of work for the ground crew.
The mission doesn’t just start when the aircrew are in the cockpit as they plan every mission meticulously – but without the round-the-clock work of the engineering team the helicopters would remain grounded.
Wildcats are robust aircraft and can be flown in extreme weather conditions all year round. Despite this, the helicopters still need constant expert attention to keep them fit to fly.
As well as taking a lot of people to keep the four Wildcats ready for take-off – it takes a lot of kit to keep them in the air. Tools are stored and kept track of meticulously to ensure the engineers have the right one for any job.
Exercise Tamber Shield is a vital training package for these personnel. The UK-led exercise, run along the Norwegian coast, involves nine other nations from Nato and the JEF (Joint Expeditionary Force), and will ensure the collective military force can respond quickly to any ongoing crises.
It allows the aircrews to enhance their warfighting capability in a very challenging environment.
But without the constant work and support of the engineering team on the ground, that vital time in the air to enhance their proficiency would not be possible.
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