It's a case of touch and go for two A400s as they hit the beach on training sortie

Two A400M Atlas transport aircraft have been showing off their ability to use rough landing strips – by spending two days at the beach.

Pembrey Sands Air Weapons Range on the coastline of Carmarthen is used for air-to-ground bombing and strafing runs, but it also provides an ideal practice area for aircraft like the Atlas.

While Pembrey Sands is primarily used by the RAF, the training area is offered to the UK's Nato allies as well, and the latest beach landings were carried out by two A400s flown by the Luftwaffe.

• RAF A400M touches down on remote Arctic island to assist in joint US-Norwegian exercise
• Release the Kraken: Drone boat dropped from Atlas aircraft in first-of-a-kind sea trial
• Atlas A400M: An in-depth look at the Royal Air Force's most advanced airlifter

In action day and night

A video released by the German embassy on X showed the aircraft approaching the beach, touching down and then taking off again without stopping – a process known as a touch and go.

The Luftwaffe crews carried out 14 landings over two days, and wrapped up their training with a wing wave to spectators.

Major (Ret'd) Martyn Alexandre, who was a Training Safety Officer at Pembrey back in 2017, explained the history of the site.

"Pembrey Sands has been owned by the MOD for a long time, initially as an RAF station," he wrote on a Gov.UK blog.

"In the mid-1930s it was the top bombing and gunnery school in the UK and by May 1940 it was a Fighter Command station.

"In the Second World War it was involved in the defence of industrial areas in Bristol and South Wales.

"RAF Pembrey itself was closed in 1957 and handed to Carmarthen County Council, so today we see Pembrey Country Park, a motor circuit and a private airport where the RAF base once was."

The beach is accessible an hour after low tide, and the site is able to hold day and night landings, meaning training can take place in the dark.

Before the introduction of the Atlas into RAF service, Maj Alexandre pointed out how C-130 Hercules aircraft regularly used the airstrip.

The A400M Atlas bridges the gap between the now-decommissioned C-130 and the C-17 Globemaster in terms of carrying capability, with both operational types being able to operate from short and austere runways.

Normal Pembrey Sands firing times

Summer
09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday
09:00 to 14:00 Fridays

Winter
09:00 to 16:00 Monday to Thursday
09:00 to 14:00 Fridays

Night firing can take place on an irregular basis.

Other air and ground training activity takes place outside these times, including aircraft landing on the beach, aircraft using the range targets but not firing weapons and various cadet forces exercises.