Tri-Service
JOAX: The Largest UK/US Joint Exercise In A Generation
This April the largest airborne exercise in a military generation revitalised US-UK joint forcible entry capability with a mass demonstration of interoperability.
The Joint Operations Access Exercise (JOAX), in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, involved 2,000 troops and featured one of the largest joint parachute drops since Exercise Purple Star in 1996.
Take a look above for Tim Cooper's in-depth look at JOAX, or below for some of the most memorable images from the exercise.
A Paratrooper assigned to the British 16 Air Assault Brigade familiarises himself with a M249 squad automatic weapon.
JOAX was designed to build knowledge, understanding and interoperability between the UK and US forces, ultimately enabling 16 Air Assault Brigade to seamlessly integrate into an American Division.
This would allow the two units to operate quickly and effectively in the event that they were to deploy as part of a coalition crisis response force.
16 Air Assault Brigade conduct mock door drills at Green Ramp on Pope Army Airfield.
The CJOAX represents a major milestone in the division’s interoperability program, which seeks to create a seamless integration of a U.K. brigade into the division and build operational compatibilities for multi-national crisis response options.
An A400M Atlas, the Royal Air Force’s newest airlift aircraft, sits on Pope Army Airfield.
The A400M, only the second to be delivered to the Royal Air Force and with less than 50 flight hours, was on its first operational deployment to the U.S. and on ground at Pope for the first time.