Roughly 400 military personnel made their way out to Carlisle Lake District Airport in Northern England earlier this summer to support 10 Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) helicopters conducting exercise Tac Blaze U.K.
The detachment comprised three Airbus AS532U2 Cougars from 300 Squadron, three Boeing CH-47F Chinooks from 298 Squadron, and four of the recently-acquired Boeing AH-64E Apaches from 301 Squadron, all based at the Gilze-Rijen Air Base in the South of the Netherlands.
With the aim to train and qualify crews in electronic warfare (EW), the Defense Helicopter Command (DHC) selected the 9,600-acre (3,885-hectare) RAF Spadeadam tactics range to allow the crews to operate both day and night under radar threat.
Pilots were also able to fly against systems not available in the Netherlands, such as the SA-8 surface-to-air (SAM) systems operated by the RAF Threat Emitter Team. Meanwhile, Spadeadam’s rolling hills allowed helicopters to fly extremely low to hide behind the terrain and avoid radar threats — a procedure that, again, cannot be done at home. Most of the training was performed under night vision goggle (NVG) conditions.
In addition to Tac Blaze-focused training, the DHC ran the Helicopter Weapons Instructor Course (HWIC), which trains pilots and loadmasters to become weapons instructors. Those who successfully complete the HWIC can train other pilots and loadmasters, and evaluate exercises and flights.
298 Squadron
Participating in Tac Blaze U.K. for the second time was the Boeing CH-47F Chinook flown by 298 Squadron. During the scenarios practiced at Spadeadam, the unit focused on moving troops while integrating closely with the Cougars and Apaches. The CH-47F model boasts the new Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS), which aims to provide more situational awareness against threats on the ground.
“The big advantage of the exercise is being able to fight against the real systems, which allows us to use and get better with CAAS,” a 298 Squadron pilot, who wished to remain anonymous, told Vertical. “Being able to check what you see in the helicopter against what is happening outside and coordinate that with the other helicopters, you need the real threat systems for that training, which is not available anywhere else.”
298 Squadron also utilized the CH-47F’s Common Missile Warning System to give crews experience in deploying flares at night.
300 Squadron
Similar to 298 Squadron, 300 Squadron used its Cougars to focus on troop movement with the addition of internal and external loads in a high-threat setting.
As the oldest platform in the DHC, the Cougar’s smaller airframe can prove to be beneficial in helping the type stay undetected compared with the Chinook. However, a 300 Squadron pilot who goes by the callsign “Hanwab,” noted that the Cougar’s smaller size also means it can’t carry as much load as the Chinook.
“Thorough planning with the needs of ground forces is always required to choose the best method, which is often a mix between the Chinooks and Cougars,” the pilot told Vertical.
With 300 Squadron transitioning to a special operations forces (SOF) unit, the squadron practiced the tactics utilized in SOF missions during Tac Blaze U.K.
301 Squadron
Acting as the escort aircraft for the transport platforms, 301 Squadron utilized its Apaches for the job. This is the first major exercise for the Echo model in Dutch service.
While the transport helicopters were training to keep out of radar range, the Apaches were training to track, detect, and take out the radar system — a mission that was further enhanced by using the Echo model, a 301 Squadron pilot told Vertical.
“The information received by the helicopter is also crucial for overall missions with other units in the air or on the ground,” the pilot said. “Tac Blaze U.K. gives us the environment in which we can train together and repeat specific scenarios or tactics.”
301 Squadron also integrated with the joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) from the Netherlands 11 Airmobile Brigade and the RAF to fly close air support scenarios with ground forces at high threat.
Ultimately, Tac Blaze U.K. provided the DHC with an opportunity for all three of its flying units to combine forces to plan and execute missions using their different helicopters and capabilities.
“In the current threat environment for helicopter operations, it is increasingly important that all of our crews be able to train on this and operate in all circumstances,” a DHC representative told Vertical. “Therefore, participating in Tac Blaze is valuable training for all aircrews.”
