RAF personnel face final pass-or-fail test in Army cooperation on Ex Kukri Dawn

Personnel from 28 Squadron and engineers from 33 Squadron have been taking part in Exercise Kukri Dawn, the final pass-or-fail test for pilots and crew before they join their first operational frontline squadron.

The exercise is deliberately conducted away from their home base to simulate a deployed operational environment.

"Exercise Kukri Dawn is the culmination of all the skills we have taught the students over the last eight months and are now being applied in an incredibly intense and challenging environment," said the exercise planner, Squadron Leader Chris Middleton.

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The RAF's 28 (Army Co-operation) Squadron is a specialised unit based at RAF Benson, operating Super Puma and Chinook helicopters.

Trainees operating the helicopters are being tested in a variety of scenarios.

These tasks range from transporting soldiers to remote locations in the Scottish Highlands, evading simulated air-to-ground threats and supporting the emergency services during large-scale crowd-control exercises with riot police officers.

"It is of massive operational benefit for the students to be based at Leuchars Station because the local environment's facilities, weather and terrain allow us to mirror more of the real-life taskings they will one day have to undertake," Sqn Ldr Middleton explained.

While based at Leuchars Station, the trainees are also working alongside members of the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, 51st Brigade and the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, conducting troop insertions into the Highlands and supporting larger ground movements to enhance inter-unit cooperation.

Additionally, Joint Helicopter Support Squadron personnel are assisting Chinook students with underslung loading sorties.

A 10-strong team has been facilitating helicopter landings at remote sites and supporting sorties carrying underslung loads, including a Panther vehicle and a Land Rover with trailer from 2 REME.

The mountains in the region allow the students to hone their evasive manoeuvre skills.

Flight Lieutenant Patrick Osborne, one of the Puma students on Kukri Dawn, said: "This exercise is really beneficial because rehearsing troop movements and being tested on casevac [casualty evacuations] whilst in unfamiliar airspace is a good way to test us and all the skills we have learnt over the eight-month course."