Hornets of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) while deployed to the UK for Exercise Cobra Warrior 23-2 have also taken advantage of low flying areas for additional training.

Bad weather prevented a flight of Hornets from using Low Flying Area 7 (LFA7) in Wales on August 31 however an improved forecast the following week enabled a pair CF-188A Hornets on two consecutive days to undertake low-level training. On September 7 and 8 a pair of Hornets utilised LFA7, which included using the Mach Loop, from where this selection of photos was taken.

Seven RCAF Hornets from 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron at CFB Bagotville in Quebec are currently detached to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. Flying from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray for the exercise is a CC-150T Polaris air-to-air refuelling tanker of 437 Transport Squadron from CFB Trenton in Ontario.

Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, Commander Royal Canadian Air Force commented: “Exercises like Cobra Warrior provide highly valuable training not only for our members, but also those of our allies and partners, to practice working together in a wide variety of tactical combat scenarios that they could face on real world operations.”

Cobra Warrior is the largest exercise organised by the RAF and the upcoming iteration of this major training event runs from September 4 until September 22.

In a change from recent Cobra Warriors, exercise sorties are being conducted each day rather than every second day.

Exercise Cobra Warrior is run by 92 Squadron, along with the RAF’s Air and Space Warfare Centre. This biannual exercise is designed to provide participants with high intensity large force tactical training.