Live-Fly Training for Allied and Partner Jets

RAMSTEIN, Germany - The exercise Ramstein Alloy 18-1 over Latvia was conducted on April 17 and 18, 2018, offering Allied and Partner air and ground crews and a NATO AWACS plane ample opportunities to practise and train standard procedures of identifying and assisting aircraft in distress.

On both days fighter aircraft from Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Partners Finland and Sweden flew several air-to-air training patterns gathering further experience and skills.

Danish and Norwegian F-16 jets and Italian Eurofighter aircraft practised so-called Dissimilar Aircraft Combat Training with Finnish F-18 and Swedish JAS-39. Polish F-16 and Italian Eurofighter jets flew Close Air Support mission for Joint Terminal Attack Controllers at Adazi Range in Latvia. A United States Air Force KC-135 refuelled Allied and Partner jets and, on the ground, the Latvian armed forces practised emergency Search and Rescue procedures. Training activities were supervised by the Combined Air Operations Centre at Uedem and tactically controlled by the Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) at Karmelava, Lithuania, the Control and Reporting Point (CRP) at Amari, Estonia as well as a NATO AWACS plane and an Italian Conformal Airborne Early Warning plane.

"We got lots of participants with eight Allies, two Partners and a NATO AWACS conducting varied and advanced training opportunities," said Major Mark Meeuwissen, exercise project officer at the Combined Air Operations Centre, Uedem."This has been a great start into 2018 and we are looking forward to launching the second sequel in June again with Partner participation. We once again further improved our procedures, skills and interoperability," he added.

Photos from the exercise can be found here

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office