RAF and Army work together to repair 'missile strikes' on runway to keep jets in the air

When it comes to getting to work, you and an F-35 pilot might have more in common than you think – as potholes make that journey a nightmare and stop you in your tracks.

But if a military runway is damaged, the RAF needs it fixed quickly so it can get its jets off the ground.

That is why a team of Air Force and Army personnel have been taking part in a drill to fix 'missile strike craters' at RAF Marham, the home of the UK's F-35B Lightnings

• Commandos guide F-35 jets during live bombing run on Exercise Strike Warrior
• Royal Navy's new F-35 squadron debuts at sea embarked on HMS Prince of Wales
• Pilot error blamed for ejection that led to US F-35B flying unmanned for 73 miles

Squadron Leader Geary, Air Base Chief of Staff at RAF Marham, said the Army's engineers bring that ability.

"Any munition could cause damage on an airfield, whether that is a missile strike or whether it's just something placed on a runway somewhere that causes a crater," he said.

The exercise saw 15m wide craters dug into the ground at the fast jet base, simulating the kind of damage a missile could deal. 

The Army Engineers had eight hours or fewer to smooth it over.

Corporal Oldfield, Plant Section Commander, Royal Engineers, explained this sees personnel recce the craters twice - once in the air and then once on the ground for any unexploded munitions

After they have cleared the debris, it is then decided whether it'll be a clean bowl or a dirty bowl.

A dirty bowl is "the quickest repair you can possibly do" and is used when an aircraft needs to land quickly.

"It's a case of compacting it, then screeding it and then putting the mat on it," he said.

The mat is a big piece of metal that is fixed to the runway over the top of the crater.

"A clean bowl is we take away all the material and bring fresh material in," he said.

"A little bit more complicated, this is so you can put a mat down and there'll be more passes of an aircraft."

Efficiency is key to meeting the deadline and it takes the Engineers three months to train for the exercise.

Squadron Leader Geary said communication between the two services is key to getting the job done.

"We can then make a command call as to which craters need to be repaired based on our priorities," he said.

It takes Army Engineers three months to train for this but the Air Force needs to work with them too.

Airfields can become prime targets in times of conflict so both the British Army and the RAF are preparing for any possibility so the UK's next-generation jets can stay in the fight.