#tervo week 2023 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

usafphantom2 · 1 year ago

Text

Jets on highways: Why the European military is expanding "dispersed" road exercises

"Let's say that the enemy's attack plans are based on the entry and destruction of an entire air wing in an airfield in one morning. Well, that won't happen if they [friendly aircraft] are scattered all over the country and moving from A to B and from C to D all the time," said Gary Waterfall, former vice-marechal of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/23/2023 - 00:20am Military

In recent months, European nations have been intensifying the operational exercises of their fighters on temporary bases mounted on highways, dispersing their military air assets to show that they can operate anywhere with more agility. But what's the motivation?

On a cloudy day at the end of last month, two F-35A Lightning fighters belonging to the Norwegian military landed on a highway in central Finland - the first time that the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the jet managed to land on a normal road.

Baana is an annual road base exercise of the Finnish Air Force. The lead responsibility of the exercise rotates every year among the Air Force units and now it is the Karelia Air Command's turn. The Air Force trains regularly operations from other than a home base to be capable of a quick dispersal across the country, when necessary. Operation at road bases is part of the training of all Air Force pilots.

The Baana 23 exercise includes daily air operations at the Tervo road base and Rissala Air Base from Tuesday to Thursday 19-21 September between 10 am and midnight, and on Friday 22 September between 10 am and 3 pm. The exercise's operational aims are to conduct highway strip take-offs and landings based on the flight training syllabus in day and night-time conditions. The exercise will see participation by Air Force F/A-18 fighters and other Finnish Air Force aircraft.

Apart from the Finnish Air Force fleet, aircraft from allied countries will be involved in the exercise. For the first time, the Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35s and Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons will participate in the exercise. The Eurofighters will operate out of Rissala Air Base.

The landing was purposeful, of course, part of an increase in recent weeks of European military training for landing and taking off fighters on highways, which analysts said represents a renewed interest in “dispersed” operations after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The goal: to give air forces the ability to operate more independently and distantly from military bases and aviation fields that would be magnets for opposing attacks.

"The purpose of the concept is to make it more challenging for an enemy to shoot down our aircraft when it is on the ground," said the head of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, Major General Rolf Folland, in a statement from the Norwegian Armed Forces at the time of the landing of the F-35A. "For such a concept to work, we must map all the possibilities and practice them."

The Swedish and Finnish armed forces already practice jet hunting operations from roads, but lately other European air forces have shown their own interest.

youtube

The Norwegian road landings and takeoffs with the F-35 were part of the multinational Baana exercise, which also saw the British Eurofighter Typhoon jets land and take off from a single-track road, something that one pilot described to the BBC as "very crazy."

Last month we also witnessed the Polish Air Force successfully complete a series of takeoffs and landings on highways involving fighters, coaches and transport aircraft, during what is known as the training exercise of dispersed operations of Route 604 in the small town of Wielbark in northern Poland.

“If you look at the Swedish or Finnish model of how they fly, they have a base area and within it they will have a series of runways, roads and airfields, where they can disperse and operate,” said Gary Waterfall, a retired lieutenant of the Royal Air Force (RAF) from the United Kingdom. "They can take off from these places, land in a different place, turn the plane, download, upload data, rearm, take off and leave again."

He emphasized that in "an era of ultra-precision attacks", dispersed operations provide agility if the bases are under threat or if entry into the airspace around the bases is denied by an enemy.

And in addition to solving the practical problems in road operations, analyst Justin Bronk said that the exercises also send a message to a target audience in the east.

“The motivation behind operations is, in part, to gather data on the opportunities and pitfalls of road operations for air forces that have not done so for a long time, and in part, to signal to Russia that they are taking serious measures to make it more difficult for their forces to reach a base in a major war,” said Bronk, a senior researcher of air power and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK defense think tank.

Similarly, Douglas Barrie, a senior member of the military aerospace area of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, based in the United Kingdom, added that there is "an element of message" aligned with the wave of new training operations on highways, which is equivalent to the NATO air forces telling Russia: "Do not assume that just because you have destroyed our main operational bases, you will make my Air Force ineffective. It's about aggravating the challenge of selecting targets for the other side."

He added that Russia discovered in Ukraine that "disabling" an enemy airfield, or the aircraft on it, is not a "simple task".

Ultimately, Waterfall said, scattered operations do not necessarily mean that air forces can prevent opponents from attacking them, but will “change their calculation” on whether or not an attack is launched.

Training of dispersed operations from Poland

For the Polish Air Force inspector, Major General Ireneusz Nowak, the fighting in Ukraine has already proven the need to be able to operate aircraft far from their usual base.

Poland's Exercise 604 specifically evaluated the ability of the air and ground crews of F-16, Su-22, MiG-29, M-346, M28, C295M and C-130 to fly to from an alternative temporary facility, based on a scenario in which a base is inaccessible. The exercise took place on Route 604, a public road used daily by car traffic, but temporarily closed to the event.

“Ukraine's findings show that permanent air bases will be the first target of the attacks,” Nowak said. “By conducting a defensive operation, as is now the case in Ukraine, our air forces must be able to survive. And this can be achieved by dispersing our aircraft, and that's what the DOLs [Drogowy Odcinek Lotniskowy, stretches of public roads designated as potential airstrips] are for. A concept of Agile Combat Employment (ACE) requires the preparation of several dozen locations [such as DOL Wielbark] across the country."

youtube

For the exercise, the highest-ranking Polish fighter pilots were the first to conduct takeoffs and landings on public roads.

“For several reasons, the commanders landed first... [mainly] to demonstrate good leadership,” said Polish Air Force Inspector Major General Ireneusz Nowak. "I don't want, and I say this very clearly and decisively, in the Polish Air Force, commanders behind tables. In aviation, you quickly lose touch with what is happening in combat units and it is difficult to make the right decisions when you are just a Power Point expert sitting at your desk in Warsaw."

More than 40 pilots were trained in operations on public highways during the exercise of Route 604.

While the pilots learned their functions, the air defenses also trained to "protect" the assets against simulated attacks by the enemy. Air defenders operating a Pilica VSHORAD missile and artillery system were trained, facing MiG-29 Fulcrums as "aggressors". The exercise was also protected against terrorist attacks, drones or enemy aircraft by Pilica systems, also having to fight a UCAV TB2 Bayraktar, as well as an S-70i Black Hawk helicopter.

Next year, the Polish Air Force expects to conduct night operations on public roads that may also involve the newly acquired KAI FA-50GF training jets.

Expect road landings to become more common

Nowak said there is a "desire" for similar exercises to be held annually in Poland, and other training exercises for dispersed operations in collaboration with NATO partner air forces.

In the long term, broad international cooperation is expected, including collaboration with Scandinavian countries, well versed in dispersed operations. Pilots from other allied countries will also be invited to Poland for joint training exercises and learning on how to operate in Polish conditions.

“In times of peace, the exercises on the motorways would imply the closure of important transport routes and, in times of war, the same motorways will be a very important element of the logistical supply of troops, which also excludes the interruption, even if only temporary, of such important supply arteries,” explained Lieutenant General Wieslaw Kukula, general commander of the Polish Armed Forces.

Poland's commitment to modernize roads and collaborate with other NATO partners in dispersed operations in the future once again points to increased deterrence in the face of Russian aggression.

“There is a certain degree of urgency throughout NATO to do this because Russia has given a warning sign,” Waterfall said. “I think it's very good to see why the day you don't want to do this is the day you'll have to do it.”

More generally, Barrie suggested that the increase in dispersed operations is a "sign of the times" due to Russia's "very abrasive relationship" with Europe.

“I don't think there's any reason why we don't see the Air Force's effort to improve resilience and survivability. In the context of NATO, people will analyze all the options,” he said.

Source: Breaking Defense

Tags: Military AviationIlmavoimat/Finland Air ForceNATO - North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationPAF - Polish Air Force / Polish Air Force

Sharing

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.