Excalibur 2005

Exercise Excalibur 2005

Over the 17th to the 19th of August, RAF Lakenheath became a hive of activity when the 48th Fighter Wing hosted the USAFE bombing and strafing exercise, 'Excalibur'. Squadrons from both the USAFE and RAF participated in pitting their ground attack skills at RAF Holbeach and RAF Wainfleet ranges in Lincolnshire where awards were given for individual, squadron and wing performances.

USAFE squadrons that participated from RAF Lakenheath were the two resident 48th FW Liberty Wing F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons, the 492Nd FS and 494th FS while the 52nd FW from Spangdahlem AFB were represented by the 81st FS flying the A-10 'Warthog' and the 22nd FS and 23rd FS flying the F-16C 'Viper' while the 555th FS, also flying the F-16C were the sole squadron to represent the 31st FW from Aviano AFB. RAF squadrons that participated were 6 Sqn and 41 Sqn from RAF Coltishall, flying the Jaguar GR3 and 9 Sqn from RAF Marham, flying the Tornado GR4. All three of the RAF squadrons flew from their home bases where the ranges are only a matter of minutes away for the fast jets. All nine squadrons were only allowed four aircraft where only one sortie would be flown per aircraft.

Excalibur was designed to provide an opportunity for aircrew from the two Airforces to 'test their skills and pit their wits against each other'. Brig. Gen. Robert P Steel , 48th FW commander commented that 'it's events like these that help us hone our skills, our lines of communication and our tactical abilities'. Nowadays, mixed Air Force sorties during combat operations are becoming the norm so exercises like Excalibur provide a fantastic opportunity for squadrons to interact and to enhance their esprit de corps.

During the three day period, the competition was split between the two ranges with RAF Holbeach hosting the low angle bomb deliveries (20° and 10°) and strafing runs while RAF Wainfleet hosted the high angle delivery runs (45° and 30°). Each flight carried six 25lb BDU-33 practise bombs where two were dropped on both the 45° and 30° categories and the final two were dropped on either the 20° or 10° category. For the strafing run, only 100 rounds of ammunition was carried which equated to only around a seconds worth of strafing.

Excalibur's momentum now looks to be increasing with all the USAFE fighter wings involved in this year's exercise and next year's event looks to be even bigger with invites going out to a number of NATO allies. Could this be the start of Red Flag - Euro style?

Participating overseas USAFE aircraft

81-0945 A-10A Thunderbolt II 52nd FW/81st FS 'Panthers'
81-0951 A-10A Thunderbolt II 52nd FW/81st FS 'Panthers'
81-0956 A-10A Thunderbolt II 52nd FW/81st FS 'Panthers'
81-0976 A-10A Thunderbolt II 52nd FW/81st FS 'Panthers'

87-0359 F-16C Fighting Falcon 31st FW/555th FS 'Triple Nickle'
89-2016 F-16C Fighting Falcon 31st FW/555th FS 'Triple Nickle'
89-2049 F-16C Fighting Falcon 31st FW/555th FS 'Triple Nickle'
90-0796 F-16D Fighting Falcon 31st FW/555th FS 'Triple Nickle'

91-0337 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/22nd FS 'Stingers'
91-0340 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/22nd FS 'Stingers'
91-0343 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/22nd FS 'Stingers'
91-0344 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/22nd FS 'Stingers'
91-0391 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/22nd FS 'Stingers'

92-3918 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/23rd FS 'Fighting Hawks'
96-0082 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/23rd FS 'Fighting Hawks'
96-0083 F-16C Fighting Falcon 52nd FW/23rd FS 'Fighting Hawks'

Exercise Excalibur results

45 degree High Altitude Release Bomb:

3rd place – 22nd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Capt. Sam “Vandal” Mann

2nd place – 41 Squadron – RAF Coltishall, UK – Flight Lieutenant Mike “Sooty” Sutton (RAF)

1st place – 23rd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Maj Rich “Chewie” Murray

30 degree Dive Bomb:

3rd place – 555th Fighter Squadron – Aviano AB, Italy – Capt Johnny “Vegas” Vargas

2nd place - 555th Fighter Squadron – Aviano AB, Italy – Lt Scott “Worm” Tregaser

1st place – 492nd Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK – Maj Trent “Bobby” Hill/Capt Christian “Juice” Burbach

20 degree Low Altitude Load Drag:

3rd place – 492nd Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK – Capt Bill “Sandman” Lujan/Capt Manaal “Pipper” Ibrahim

2nd place - 492nd Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK – Lt Pete “Cash” Yule/Capt Ken “Meso” Harney

1st place - 492nd Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK - Maj Trent “Bobby” Hill/Capt Christian “Juice” Burbach

10 degree Low Altitude High Drag:

3rd place – 81st Fighter Squadron - Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Capt Jason “Bagger” Jensen

2nd place -- 555th Fighter Squadron – Aviano AB, Italy – Maj Paul “Dino” Murray

1st place -- 41 Squadron – RAF Coltishall, UK – Flight Lieutenant Alex “Tenno” Tennent (RAF)

Low Angle Strafe:

3rd place - 22nd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Capt Tim “Spike” Pesek

2nd place - 555th Fighter Squadron – Aviano AB, Italy – Lt Brian “Moses” Perkins

1st place – 22nd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Capt. Sam “Vandal” Mann

Top Gun:

3rd place – 494th Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK – Capt Robert “Farmer” Hines/Capt Chris “Spliff” Russel

2nd place - 494th Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK – Capt Dan “Curly” Rauch/Capt John “Vinnie” Powers

1st place - 23rd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Maj Rich “Chewie” Murray

Top Flight:

3rd place - 555th Fighter Squadron – Aviano AB, Italy

2nd place - 494th Fighter Squadron – RAF Lakenheath, UK

1st place - 22nd Fighter Squadron – Spangdahlem AB, Germany – Capt Sam “Vandal” Mann/Capt Matt “Romil” Speer/Maj John “Boom Boom” Vincent/Capt Tim “Spike” Pesek

Top Wing:

Runner Up: RAF Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing

Winner: Aviano AB, Italy’s 31st Fighter Wing

With thanks to Captain Jason McCree and the entire 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs team for making this possible.