Exercise "Orion 23" hosts Indian Airforce Rafale fighter jets at BA118 Mont de Marsan full photo report.

Exercise Orion 23 is reportedly the most prominent multinational exercise  French armed forces have undertaken. It has been in the planning since 2021 and involved thousands of French troops supplemented with troops and aircraft from Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Stage four of the exercise witnessed the Airforcees flying against the hostile forces known as "Mecure". The primary fighter response came from Base Arriene Mont-de-Marsan. It included the Indian Air Force with four French-built Rafales alongside the Hellenic Air Force Mirage 2000s, a mix of home-based Rafales and Mirage 2000s and four St Dizier-based Rafale jets. Stage four of this multinational exercise looked interesting and ran from the 17th of April to the 5th of May, 2023.

Following the visit to Cobra Warrior on 23/1, I looked forward to warm sunshine in the Southwest of France. Unfortunately, things only got worse with three days of continuous drizzle and heavy rain before I threw in the towel (quite literally).

RB 001 Rafale DH from 17Sqn "Golden Arrows" is based at Ambala Airforce Station India.

The Indian Air Force (Bharatiya Vayu Sena) F3 line Rafales have been given fourteen specific upgrades, which include a viewing helmet and a towable anti-missile decoy.

RB 001 Rafale DH Indian Air Force.

The four Bharatiya Vayu Sena  Rafale DHs arrived at Mont de Marsan from India via a stopover in Egypt. They were accompanied by two Boeing C-17 transport aircraft and two support IL-78 tankers, both of which returned to Eygpt without landing in France.

RB 002 Rafale DH from 17Sqn "Golden Arrows" Ambala AFS India. 

RB 007 Rafale DH lands back at Mont de Marsan, Southwest France.

RB 005 Rafale DH 17 Sqn "Golden Arrows" 

RB 005 Rafale DH 17 Sqn "Golden Arrows" landing at Mont de Marsan in the awful weather.

In fact, it was the worst weather I had photographed since the defence week at Landivisau years ago when the Italian F-16s took part in the Defence Week exercise.

309/30-HB Rafale B ECE01.303 Special colours CEAM Tail.

Mixed launches of French and Indian Rafales.

179/30-GH Rafale C EC02.030 'Normandie-Niemen' SPA91 'Aigle à tête de mort' AdlA.

359/30-FZ Rafale B EC03.030 AdlA.

148/30-VA Rafale C AdlA.

318/30-HM Rafale B AdlA

104/30-HH Rafale C EC03.030 'Lorraine' SPA162 'Tete de tigre' AdlA.

309/30-HB Rafale B ECE01.303 'Côte de Argent' 90 years Special colours. 

CEAM Centre d'Expertise Arienes Militaires (Air Warfare Centre).

Thunder over Mont de Marsan.

146/30-GY Rafale C ECE01.303 'Côte de Argent' BR128 'Le Scarabée blanc' AdlA.

552 Mirage 2000-5EG 331Mira HAF.

552 Mirage 2000-5EG.

The Hellenic Air Force (Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia) contingent consisted of three Mirage 2000-5EGs 549, 552, and 553 and one Mirage 2000BG 506.

 

506 Mirage 2000BG  331 Mira with their discreet blue and white chequerboard fin marking.

639/3-JJ Mirage 2000D RMV EC02.003'Campagne' SPA67 'Cicogne de Navarre' AdlA.

 

622/30-IL Mirage 2000D RMV.

622/30-IL Mirage 2000D RMV.

341/4-FH Rafale B EC01.004 'Gascogne' BR66 'Faucon de Egyptian' AdlA.

344/4-FK Rafale B EC01.004 'Gascogne' SPA37 'Charnognard' AdlA.

327/4-HZ Rafale B 'Gascogne' SPA37 'Charnognard' AdlA.

355/4-FV Rafale B EC01.004 'Gascogne' it still wearing "Casque de bayarol' Sqn Marks.

2626/SD EC725R2 from EH01.067 'Pyrénées'from BA120 at Cazaux.

3455/VT AS555AN EH03.067 'Parisis' from BA107 Villacoublay.

78/XE TBM-7000A 'CEAM' named 'Daligaunobile' lands at Mont de Marsan. 

RB002 Rafale DH Indian Air Force landed at BA118 just after midday on my third day.

After three days of rain, I am heading home.

Happy "Damp" Days!

 

NATO Exercise Ample Train 1993 at RAF St Mawgan Cornwall.

The Ample Train Exercise 1993 was held at RAF St Mawgan in the United Kingdom. The participating jets deployed there on 23/5/1993.

Ample Train as an exercise was devised to improve the ability of NATO's airforces to work on and with each other's aircraft, with aircrews servicing another nation's aircraft.
Nine air arms, with two fast jets each, participated in the operations except the RAF, who participated with three Tornado GR1s. And if I remember correctly, it was a torrid time servicing them in the very damp conditions we all faced that week in May 1993.

We spent our days at the airfield and the nights in the small village of St Mawgan, staying at the Falcon Inn. Those nights turned into very late nights with great beer and food! Sorry, I digress, so here are the transparencies all captured on Kodachrome 64.    

 77-0113/CR of the 32nd TFW USAFE from Soesteburg Airbase in the Netherlands.

77-0113 and 77-0097 'CR' F-15As of the 32nd TFS USAFE.

 
F-104S ASA's MM6719/51-09 and MM6703/51-23 AMI/22 Gruppo 51Stormo.

Coming from Istrana Airbase.

MM6719/51-06 F-104S ASA AMI/22 Gruppo 51 Stormo.

MM6703/51-23 F-104S ASA AMI/22 Gruppo 51 Stormo.

MM6719/51-06 and MM6703/51-23 mission on.

FA-74 F-16AS FAB/31 Sqn 10 Wing.

FA-84 F-16AS FAB/31 Sqn 10 Wing.

 Two F-16Ds arrived from the TurAF/Öncel filo 4/cuAJU at Mürted airbase. This was the first  Turkish Air Force squadron to receive the F-16Cs and D's as the training squadron or Öncel. In 1999, it was later re-designated the 143rd Sqn.
Interestingly, in the same year as Ample Train 1993, the base became known as Akinci airbase; many years later, with its strategic position just Northeast of Ankara, it became the centre of the failed 2016 coup d'etat attempt.
Following the failed coup, Akinci was re-designated to its former name, Mürted.

86-0196 F-16D TurAF/Öncel Filo 4 cuAJU.

86-0195 F-16D TurAF/Öncel Filo 4 cuAJU.

J-616 F-16AS KLU/311Sqn.

J-622 F-16AS KLU/311Sqn.

201 Mirage 2000BG HAF/311 MPK, 141Pterix.

243 Mirage 2000EG HAF/331MPK, 141Pterix.

ZA475/JL Tornado GR.1 RAF 27 Sqn. Unfortunately, I did not photograph the other two aircraft, ZA474/JK and ZA491/JN, for technical reasons. I'm not sure of the reasons for them not flying, but locally, it was imagined to be the wet weather.

EF-18A Eda/Ala 15 recovers in that ever-changing weather.

C-15-33/15-20 EF-18A Eda/Ala 15.

FA-74 and FA84 F-16AS  FAB/31Sqn, 10Wing, recover late afternoon.

37+77 and 37+92 F-4F's GAF/JG-74. They were returning from a morning mission, and the weather had just disintegrated; listening to the scanner communication with the GAF pilots whilst landing was a tad exasperated in those difficult circumstances.

37+92 F-4F GAF/JG-74.

C-15-35/15-22 EF-18A Eda/Ala 15.

Mirage 2000's 201/243 HAF 331MPK/141 Pterix run for the break.

"Great days in Cornwall!"