UK Wildcat crews and Norwegian sailors prepare for deployment with fjord-based exercise
British helicopter crews are ready for the UK's premier naval mission this year after an intense three-week training programme with their Norwegian counterparts.
More than 200 Royal Navy personnel, four Wildcat helicopters and four fast attack craft took part in the 20-day Exercise Tamber Shield in the fjords near Bergen.
They were joined by their Norwegian counterparts, who have been helping to train British sailors ahead of their Carrier Strike Group deployment, led by HMS Prince of Wales, later this year.
British P2000 fast patrol boats and Norwegian missile craft manoeuvred rapidly in the fjords, with the crews of the larger ships tasked with fending them off.
This saw the Wildcats 'target' them with Martlet anti-ship missiles.
Lieutenant Jack Mason, Commanding Officer of Royal Navy fast patrol boat HMS Dasher, praised the hosts for the support and the opportunities afforded the P2000 boats.
"The hospitality and support from 334 Skvadron and Haakonsvern Naval Base has been superb, providing medical, engineering and logistical support as required," he said.
"The P2000s have been able to develop advanced navigation techniques within the Norwegian fjords, whilst also developing standard operating procedures to destroy an air threat within a littoral environment."
The test in the challenging waters of western Norway also underscored the Wildcat's wide-ranging abilities.
These include anti-submarine warfare, including dropping Sting Ray torpedoes, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, and search and rescue – all of which will be used in the Carrier Strike Group deployment.
Lieutenant Commander Oliver Brooksbank, 815 Naval Air Squadron's Senior Pilot, said the latest Tamber Shield has built on pre-existing foundations.
"Previous iterations of the exercise laid the foundations with our Norwegian allies, rehearsing maritime strike tactics using the Wildcat's Martlet missile in Norway's congested archipelago," he said.
"This year has built on those foundations and aims to ensure readiness to deploy alongside on operations in some of the most contested waters in the world, in the defence of the UK Carrier Strike Group."
Norway is also set to take part in the deployment, with frigate Roald Amundsen and tanker/support ship Maud joining.
But, instead of its usual NH90 helicopter, the Amundsen will operate a Royal Navy Wildcat – crewed and maintained by its personnel from 815 Naval Air Squadron.
To help with integration, the Wildcats have been working with Amundsen's sister ship, HNoMS Otto Sverdrup, plus the Maud.
Meanwhile, their crews have gone through damage-control training fighting fires, floods and mock crashes with the Norwegian Navy.
All of this comes under the umbrella of Exercise Tamber Shield, which is now in its third year, and has helped develop tactics used to defend the carrier group if needed.
Commodore Kyrre Haugen, Norway's Chief of the Naval Fleet, also said the exercise provided "an exceptional arena for advanced integration training between the Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy".
"It also gave us the opportunity to do the last preparations for the upcoming Carrier Strike Group deployment. Tamber Shield clearly demonstrates the unique relationship between our navies," he said.
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