Royal Air Force News Friday, December 26, 2025 P3
News
Celebrities wish you a Merry Christmas ’ALLO ’ALLO to all you wonderful people serving in the RAF. Christmas is the perfect time to say a huge thank you for all your amazing work and the sacrifices you make to keep us and our country safe. We owe you a great debt of gratitude. Your continued selfless commitment is a huge source of reassurance to us all and it’s a privilege to wish you, your families and other members of the Armed Forces, a very Happy Christmas and safe New Year. You are all fabulous. Lots of Love Vicki Michelle MBE, actress (left)
● See pages 4-5 for more festive greetings to the RAF Family from the stars
Chiefs eye Leeming for NATO war drills Lynn Dunne LEEMING IS set to host more international training exercises after proving its value to Nato chiefs testing multi-domain war fighting skills. The departure of Swiss F-18s from Leeming marking the end of Exercise Yorknite has helped establish the North Yorkshire station’s reputation as a key location for deployed international exercises. Its proximity to the North Sea Danger Area complex and ranges such as Otterburn and Spadeadam are clear advantages, but trialling new concepts in warfare is where the station comes into its own. Personnel accustomed to running Hawk and Tutor aircraft now carry out ‘hot pit’ refuelling of US F-35s and French Rafales. On Exercise Excalibur Run they dispersed F-18 jets on a base ‘under threat’, turning around a squadron of aircraft spread across the airfield, at night, in less than 90 minutes. Leeming also feeds thousands through the existing messes, with support from 3 Mobile Catering Sqn. And Air Traffic Control handled almost 23,000 air movements this year by 40 aircraft types. As the RAF’s Operational Training Centre, it has direct links to Nato – where validation standards are set. Planning for exercises usually starts six months in advance, while ensuring that the airfield requirements for the future pilots of resident 11 Sqn QEAF and two University Air Squadrons are met. Finishing its seventh year at the base, Ex Yorknite enables
TRAINING PLACES: Swiss F-18 prepares for a training mission at Leeming; inset right, Apache helicopter and USAF Osprey take part in combat drills at the North Yorks station
Swiss F-18 pilots to achieve up to half of their night-flying currency for the year. Detachment Commander Lt Col Reto ‘Woody’ Wüthrich said: “At Leeming we are close to various ranges, and to the North Sea. That means that more of our time in the air is spent training – not flying to the training areas.
“The support is great. We are always able to find solutions that fit us and everyone else on base. It’s comfortable for us to sit in a nest that’s already prepared for us.” At the end of January, Leeming hosts Joint Aviation Command helicopters and almost 200 people, supported by 3 Mobile Catering Sqn and Tactical Support Wing,
on Exercise Hyperion Storm. Operations Wing chief, Wg Cdr Ted Edwards, said: “Leeming’s ability to offer a wide range of training opportunities means this year we have supported more exercises and training than ever before. “Hosting and organising are something at which we are good. In
the summer, we facilitated two major air exercises in parallel, concurrently operating multiple aircraft types, and providing life support to 1,000 additional personnel. “Alongside the Swiss Air Force, the station exercised its ability to support 24-hour operations whilst also defending the base from intruders and drones.”