The United Kingdom’s Air Force (RAF – Royal Air Force) reports that an Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft from Brize Norton Air Base, in England, performed the longest flight ever for this type of aircraft, beginning the RAF’s deployment to the 23rd Mobility Guardian Exercise (Exercise Mobility Guardian 23).
The Atlas left Brize Norton last Monday, July 3, and flew non-stop for 22 hours to Guam, an American island in Micronesia, in the Western Pacific Ocean.
For the long journey, the large plane was refueled in flight three times, once over the Atlantic, once over Alaska and finally over the Pacific Ocean. During the flight, the route also brought the Atlas closer to the North Pole, over the Arctic ice cap, than any previous flight of this type of aircraft.
The first refueling was carried out by a Voyager (Airbus A330MRTT) from the RAF, which departed from the UK. The second and third refuelings were carried out by a second Voyager operating from Eielson Air Force Base of the United States Air Force, in Alaska.
«The Exercise Mobility Guardian is an excellent training opportunity for the Air Mobility Force; it allows us to demonstrate the speed, range, and utility of the RAF, sustained by the means of the Air Mobility Force, and reinforces our ability to quickly conduct global Air Operations. The non-stop flight of the RAF’s A400M Atlas from Brize Norton to Guam is a great example of our ability to project air power, enabling us to bring aircraft, crews, and vital equipment to the other side of the world in a timely manner and with the ability to operate immediately,» said Air Commodore Lyle, Commander of the RAF’s Air Mobility Force.
Flight Lieutenant York, from the Voyager Flight Training Force, said that in addition to the strategic demonstration of the UK’s commitment to operating in the region, from the crew’s point of view, «this was a challenging and rewarding sortie for everyone, by allowing the long-range projection of the RAF’s Air Mobility Fleet. The planning has been significant, as well as the benefits of the long-range strategic air refueling exercise with another type of large aircraft, carried out from advanced operation airports.»
Upon arrival in Guam, the Atlas, accompanied by an RAF Voyager, elements of the Tactical Medical Wing, and other support staff from the entire RAF, will join the Exercise Mobility Guardian, which has aircraft and personnel from the US, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, and New Zealand.
According to the RAF, the exercise is the most recent example of the importance the UK places on this region, as the training area extends from northern Australia to Japan and then across the Pacific to Hawaii.
The aim of the exercise is for the countries involved to develop their skills and understanding of interoperability and, thus, be able to provide air power, if necessary, and overcome the concept of ‘The Tyranny of Distance’.
During the exercise, sorties are planned to and from Japan, as such RAF activities also demonstrate the UK’s commitment to the recently signed Hiroshima Agreement between the UK and Japan. This agreement emphasizes that the security and prosperity of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions are inseparable.
