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!

 

Exercise "Cobra Warrior" (CW2023/1) full photo report on the UKs premier Military Aviation Exercise.

For weeks, the aviation social media sites have been full of what is now firmly the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force's most significant major exercise, and Cobra Warrior (CW23-1) was not going to disappoint.  

Early March saw the participants arriving at RAF Waddington and Connigsby, both in Lincolnshire, and this first stage of the 2023 exercise would feature three new airforces. Five India Mirage 2000s from 40 Wing at Gwalior air base would join Finnish Air Force F/A-18c's Hornets from HavLLv 31 at Kuopio-Rissala. They were joined at Waddington by previous participants, the Belgian Air Force, with six F-16AMs visiting from 10 Wing at Florennes.

The final first-time participants came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, arriving at RAF Conningsby in late February. The RSAF bought six Eurofighter Typhoons from the 10 Wing at Taif/King Fahd Air Base. They were made up of five single-seat Typhoons and a two-seat Typhoon T.

The weather was the usual miserable English: damp, grey, and cold. Yellow, no parking cones lined the local roads. The A-15 crawled with continuous bumper-to-bumper juggernauts, and while the Wave cafe and parking swelled daily to beyond bursting, the fast jet action made it all well worth the visit.

So here it is.

 The weather was very mixed on all the days I attended.

  

KT208 Mirage 2000TI of the Indian Air Force from 40 Wing at Gwalior/Maharajpur Airbase. 

KT211 Mirage 2000TI following KT208 for take-off on Waddingtons runway 03.

You cannot beat a Mirage 2000TI taking off, especially when they are Indian Air Force machines.

HN422/22 F/A-18C of the Finnish Air Force, one of the six participating from HävLLv 31 at Kuopio-Rissala Airbase.

HN424/24 F/A-18C HävLLv 31 with sqadron marks.

 

KF112 Mirage 2000I taxis to 03.

KF118 Mirage 2000I of 40 Wing "Bharatiya Vayu Sena" Indian Air Force.

Indian Air Force Mirage 2000I Rolling on runway 03.

FA-77 F-16AM, BAF. from Florennes Airbase.

FA-116 F-16AM BAF with its two-sided 80th-anniversary scheme.

KT211 makes a low pass as it escorts KT208 for an emergency landing.

KT208 prepares for an emergency landing after declaring a technical issue. After a visual check, the emergency services were stood down.

KT211 Mirage 2000TI picks up some beautiful light against a very grey sky.

KT211 makes some low and fast passes as it awaits permission to land following KT208's technical issue.

KT211 Mirage 2000TI taxing in after the runway is changed to 21.

FA-116 F-16AM BAF shows its artwork from the opposite side.

FA-136 F-16AM "The X Tiger" wears another dramatic colour scheme to mark 70 years of the Belgium Airforce 31Squadron and 60 years of the NATO Tiger.  

KF211 Mirage 2000I Indian Airforce.

KF118 Mirage 2000I "Bharatiya Vayu Sena" Indian Air Force.

HN424/24, HN406/06, and HN422/22 are on the break for landing runway 21 at RAF Waddington.

FA-134 F-16AM BAF.

By the afternoon, sortie, the weather is not playing ball.

In fact, it was like a nighttime sky.

ZZ419 Shadow R1+ 14 Sqn RAF. Another day and better weather.

Early morning entertainment at RAF Waddington.

Two Royal Saudi Airforce Typhoon F.2 arrived at RAF Waddington from RAF Coningsby.

1019 Typhoon F.2 Royal Saudi Airforce. 

8019 Typhoon F.2 Royal Saudi Airforce lands at RAF Waddington.

Meanwhile, across at RAF Coningsby, it's swift-moving.

ZK318/318 Typhoon FGR.4 RAF.

ZK432/432 Typhoon FGR.4, 6 Sqn. RAF.

ZK432/432 Typhoon FGR.4, 6 Sqn. RAF.

1019 Typhoon 10 Sqn Royal Saudi Airforce from  10 Wing at Taif/King Fahd.

Happy Days?

316 Typhoon F.2 3 Sqn RSAF.

8018 Typhoon F.2 80Sqn RSAF.

ZK342/342 Typhoon FGR.4 29(R) Sqn and ZK432/432 Typhoon FGR.4 6 Sqn lead Typhoon T.3 ZK382?382 on the break for landing back at RAF Coningsby.

ZK368/368 Typhoon FGR.4 29(R) Sqn.

Royal Saudi Airforce Typhoons in the break for landing back at RAF Coningsby.

8019 Typhoon F.2 80 Sqn RSAF.

8018 Typhoon F.2 80 Sqn RSAF.

 

316 Typhoon F.2 3 Sqn RSAF.

1019 Typhoon F.2 10 Sqn RSAF.

8019 Typhoon F.2 RSAF. Overshoots due to runway congestion.

8019 Typhoon F.2 80 Sqn RSAF.

ZJ937/937 Typhoon FGR.4 29(R) Sqn RAF.

ZK433/433 Typhoon FGR.4 41(R) TES.

ZK318/318 Typhoon FGR4.RAF departs RAF Coningsby as we do.

Happy Days!