Tue, Jan 18, 2011
Up To Four UK Crews Will Deploy From Summer 2011 With Their
U.S. Colleagues
Members of the RAF's 51 Squadron have completed their first week
of training with the US Air Force on the Rivet Joint aircraft,
designed for airborne intelligence-gathering. Up to four UK crews
will deploy beginning in the summer of 2011 with their US
colleagues on combined operations worldwide, including
Afghanistan.
Rivet Joint Aircraft
Pilots, navigators and electronic warfare officers, in addition
to intelligence operators and airborne maintenance technicians, are
amongst those being trained on the aircraft at Offutt Air Force
Base, Nebraska. This co-manning arrangement gives the UK access to
this highly effective means of gathering intelligence - replacing
that provided by the UK's Nimrod R1, which retires in March 2011 -
as well as preparing crews to operate the UK's own three Rivet
Joint aircraft, which are due to enter service in 2014.
"Co-manning is vitally important to the RAF; it allows us to
train and operate Rivet Joint with the US Air Force ahead of our
formal acquisition of the aircraft," said Wing Commander Garry
Crosby, who will be Officer Commanding 51 Squadron when he
completes his training at Offutt Air Force Base. "The first group
of 51 Squadron personnel are the pioneers and face a demanding
period of training on Rivet Joint. I am proud to be one of them. We
are looking forward to our first training missions on Rivet Joint
and setting our sights on future operational success together."
Training will take between three and five months depending on
specific crew positions. Once this is complete, the RAF aircrew
members will return to the UK and be attached to the 55th Wing's
343rd Reconnaissance Squadron. This unique opportunity allows RAF
personnel to benefit from the US Air Force's experience of the
aircraft, while bringing high levels of combat experience and
specialized knowledge to share with their US colleagues.
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