Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby in chilly Finland for icy testing exercise
Typhoon jets from a squadron based at RAF Coningsby have been in chilly Finland for a key testing exercise.
Pilots from 41 Test And Evaluation Squadron (TES) honed their skills in winter operations, pushing and testing the Typhoons in a session labelled ‘Snow Rider’ and hosted by the Finnish Air Force Academy.
Hard-packed snow, icy runways and temperatures that were often below freezing made conditions demanding for the Coningsby personnel.
The challenging aim of the activity was to expand the Typhoons’ capability to operate on runways with less surface friction.
In close co-operation with their Finnish Air Force colleagues, personnel developed techniques to improve the RAF’s ability to operate Typhoons in austere, freezing conditions.
Cold hard science was used to assess how well the Typhoons could be landed on an icy surface. Water was used to create a test strip of ice on the runway and 285 friction measurements were taken down the runway to facilitate the testing.
Flight Lieutenant Louis King, 41 TES operations officer, said: “With the Finnish air being so dry, we had to create our own reduced friction surfaces by spraying water and letting it freeze.
"The airfield maintenance team then drove their friction reader down the runway to get an accurate surface friction until we had obtained the correct conditions to test.”
For 20-year-old RAF Coningsby photographer, AS1 Joshua Whiting, ‘Snow Rider’ was his first time overseas with work.
He said: “Finland is beautiful, but it was seriously cold. Because of the temperatures, they were careful about how to take off and land, and I had to be patient.
"It was a very dry sort of cold and as soon as you were outside for about 30 seconds, your fingers turned blue if you weren’t wearing the proper clothes.”
Air Marshal Alan Marshall, the RAF Air and Space Commander, said: “Returning to Finland to work with our Finnish Air Force colleagues is always highly rewarding and valuable.
"They are adept and well-versed in the agile employment of air assets, particularly in cold weather conditions. Exercise ‘Snow Rider’ was a great success and again demonstrated our capability to operate in all environments.”
RAF Coningsby is home to two frontline, combat-ready squadrons and is the training station for Typhoon pilots.