Typhoons fighters from RAF take part in German Air Force exercise

British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons fighters from RAF Coningsby, UK, have participated in a German Air Force exercise that was conducted over the southern North Sea.

The exercise strengthens the relationship between the two key European Nato allies.

During the Exercise MAGDay, Typhoons from XI (Fighter) Squadron and RAF Voyager from RAF Brize Norton joined German Typhoons and Tornados.

The exercise was attended by several other Nato Allies and partner nations.

UK XI (F) Squadron Officer Commanding said: “Exercise MAGDay provides, XI (F) Squadron with the opportunity to demonstrate our ability to project UK Air Power and fight in a complex environment, shoulder-to-shoulder with our closest allies.”

An RAF Voyager, a German A310 and an A400M plus a US KC135 tanker conducted air-to-air refuelling off the German coast.

Further training was conducted over Northern Germany. The exercise tested the RAF’s ability to communicate with other national communication systems within the Nato alliance.

It also saw the participation of US and Dutch F-16 fighters and Swiss Air Force F18 Hornets.

An XI(F) Squadron pilot said: “Participation in Ex MAGDay has required detailed tactical planning and coordination with our European and US counterparts.

“The execution provided an excellent opportunity to reinforce and hone our interoperability skills with key Nato allies to undertake multi-role missions. In this case, involving 40 aircraft from five nations.

“Exercises like this give us the experience of working together as a team, which is the key to being able to conduct air operations as part of an alliance such as Nato successfully.”