Navy News
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.
Having proven their ability to operate the AH1 Wildcat in temperatures down to -30°C amid the mountains and fjords of Norway’s High North, the battlefield helicopters are now demonstrating they are equally at home in punishing heat, dust, sand, bleak, scrub terrain … like the commandos they serve.
Normally based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, the ‘flying eyes’ and ‘aerial punch’ of the Royal Marines on the battlefield – the squadron’s Wildcats provided commandos with a myriad of support options: reconnaissance, ‘top cover’ for ground movements, calling in air support, artillery spotting, naval gunnery spotting, moving troops and personnel around (and much more) – are spending the late summer/early autumn in El Centro, California.
The city’s Naval Air Facility – about 100 miles east of San Diego and close to the Mexican border – is not home to any permanent squadrons.
But it does offer access to aerial and ground ranges for visiting formations to test air-to-air combat, practise bombing and other air-to-ground operations.
The squadron’s California deployment – Exercise Emerald Warrior – is allowing a worthy test of its personnel and its machines.
“Operating in the desert environment is crucial for Commando Helicopter Force Aviators,” said pilot Lieutenant James Parker.
“In the past year, 847 NAS has seen its aircrew deployed to the Arctic, embarked on ships, and now to the desert, preparing to support Commando Forces anywhere.
“That means landing in the dust as well as training crews and engineers to operate in the intense heat.”
As well as the pilots and ground crews supporting them, also deployed to the desert are MAOT – the Mobile Air Operations Team – who roam the sands looking for suitable sites which might serve as a makeshift forward refuelling/rearming/repair site for commando helicopters.
Practising in the heat of the desert, by day and by night, flying in close formation requires trust and a great deal of skill.
Lieutenant James Parker
And like the Royal Marines they support, when deployed on the front line, all 847 personnel must be able to sustain themselves in the harshest of conditions.
Just as they undergo Arctic survival training in Norway, so everyone deployed to El Centro has undertaken the desert equivalent which covers vital subjects such as constant hydration, shielding from the sun, avoiding some of the poisonous reptiles and creatures (scorpions, snakes, toads) which inhabit the barren terrain… while making ‘use’ of other animals, checking traps and snares at dawn for that day’s food – what they catch, they eat. Kangaroo rat anyone?
“Operating in the 48-degree (118°F) heat of the Sonoran Desert requires hard work and mental resilience from all involved, both on the ground and in the air,” Lt Parker added.
Having mastered the fundamentals of living/operating in the desert, the squadron can then shift to focusing on the business end: flying and fighting to support ground forces.
“We’ve operated in two extremes this year,” Lt Parker said. “The squadron thrived in the High North and is now firmly established in the Sonoran Desert.
“Practising in the heat of the desert, by day and by night, flying in close formation requires trust and a great deal of skill.”
The squadron will remain at El Centro for several more weeks as it builds up its desert skills.
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.