Taking to the skies alongside our allies: Exercise Point Blank
Royal Air Force and US Marine Corps F-35B jets took to the North Sea alongside other fast jets in Exercise Point Blank
Over the North Sea, some of the worlds most advanced, high-tech fast jets have been training together before embarking on HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Aircraft from the Royal Air Force, United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force have all gathered for a large warfighting exercise.
This years exercise involved flying alongside three fellow NATO nations over and around the UK in a complex warfighting scenario involving over 50 aircraft. This training keeps our pilots’ skills sharp and ready to operate alongside our Allies whenever and wherever the call comes.
Also involved in the exercise from the RAF were Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth, which provided the “enemy”. This role adds a significant challenge to the other exercising aircraft.
They act as the Aggressors against the fifth-generation F-35s from the RAF, US Marine Corps, and Royal Netherlands Air Force. Simulating the tactics and threats of potential adversaries whilst challenging their colleagues in a series of complex air-to-air battles that tested the skills of the pilots involved and pushed these world-class aircraft to their limits.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force sent their F-35As — a slightly different model to the RAF’s F-35B and the US Air Force also sent two of their infamous F-16 squadrons.
Both the RAF and USMC F-35Bs are taking part as the first step in their work up training ready to deploy on HMS Queen Elizabeth. They will then take part in Exercise Joint Warrior, which is a bi-annual exercise hosted by the UK and hosts a number of maritime, land and air forces from allies around the world.
