Weapons | Air Defence | Simulated Attack Profiles

The mission of Number 19(R) Squadron at RAF Valley is to provide Tactical Weapons Training to Junior Officer fast-jet pilots to prepare them for entry to the Operational Conversion Units (OCUs) and subsequent Front-line service.  This includes training of both RAF and RN pilots together with Foreign and Commonwealth pilots. 

The Squadron is comprised as follows: 

Training Flights

The role of the Training Flights is to co-ordinate and supervise the day-to-day task of airborne tactics instruction for 19 Sqn trainee pilots.  They ensure that all such flying activity is conducted safely and in an appropriate learning environment.  In addition, the flights are responsible for the welfare and personal development of all trainees assigned to them. 

Staff Training – CFS Flight

CFS Flight administers initial staff training on 19 Sqn thereby preparing trainee staff for instructional duties on the Training Flights.  CFS Flight liase directly with Staneval staffs to ensure appropriate standardisation and cross-fertilisation of ideas, techniques and tactics across RAF Valley flying wing and beyond to the OCUs and Front-line. 

QWI / Weapons Instructional Flight

QWI / WIF is established to prepare and train QWI candidates to undertake weapons instructional duties on the Sqn.  In addition, all instructional weaponry sorties are conducted under the auspices of QWI /WIF.  The Flight is also responsible for the routine running of the detachment facility at RAF St Athan.  

Weapons 

The students get their first taste of Air-to-Ground weaponry at Pembrey Range in South Wales.  Sorties are flown from either RAF Valley or from a detachment at RAF St Athan near Cardiff.  Students are first taught how to strafe using the Aden 30mm cannon, the targets are fabric panels suspended from wooden poles.  Students are next taught bombing from both level and 10° dive deliveries.  The bombs used are 3kg practice bombs with a smoke and flash charge to aid scoring.  The 3 kg bomb is designed to simulate the trajectory of the much heavier 1000lb bomb that the students will become more familiar with on their next aircraft type. 

Air Defence 

Although officially now known as 19(Reserve) or (R) Sqn, up to 1992 the Sqn was known as 19(F) Sqn.  The (F) stood for ‘fighter’ and was awarded after WWI.  Indeed 19 (F) Sqn has a long fighter tradition, as its primary role for many years was the Air Defence (AD) of the UK.  Today the Sqn continues to ensure the highest standards of AD throughout the RAF by instructing new pilots in the art of air combat, both in the visual and ground control intercept (GCI) environments.  

Students are initially given instruction on how to track a bandit using the Hawk gun sight.  After only 2 sorties they progress to the 1v1, or ‘dog fighting’ arena.  Here students are taught visual combat from offensive, defensive and neutral positions, employing IR missile and gun tactics.  At the end of this phase, students fly a solo sortie against a member of staff to demonstrate adequate proficiency prior to moving to the more demanding 2v1 phase.  

The 2v1 phase allows the student to learn how to employ a formation of 2 aircraft against a single threat.  Tactics include visual 2v1 and the use of GCI.  The use of GCI allows them to merge with a bandit from a range of up to 50 miles.  The controlling is done by fighter controllers at east coast bases, who employ radars throughout the UK to vector the fighters on to the threat.  Use of the correct tactics allow the formation to arrive at the merge with advantage and quickly manoeuvre for the kill.  Again, at the end of this phase a solo student is expected to lead a formation and use GCI to ID and kill the simulated threat.  

At the end of every sortie a debrief is conducted to assess the success of the mission and iron out any safety issues.  Debriefing is greatly enhanced by the use of the in cockpit video, which records the sortie through the head up display and audio.  

Overall this discipline requires a high level of situational awareness, good aircraft handling and teamwork, all of which are among the many qualities expected of today’s students. 

Simulated Attack Profiles 

The Simulated Attack Profile (SAP) Phase introduces the students to the skills that they will need to carry out tactical low- level flying.  The students are already familiar with low level navigation but they have not used the aircraft to simulate bombing targets.  The Phase begins with the student flying in the same aircraft as the instructor and getting to grips with the tactical aspects of sortie planning and flying to achieve specific Time On Target (TOT).  The TOT is given to the student at the beginning of the plan and should achieve a tolerance of 10 seconds.  As the Phase progresses the students learn to operate with other aircraft in a tactical formation and to perform both level and dive attacks.  The Phase ends by introducing a simulated enemy aircraft that will intercept the aircraft at low level and try to disrupt their attacks or simulate shooting them down.   By the end of the Phase the student will be expected to plan and lead a pair of aircraft at low level, and then achieve his TOT whilst being intercepted en route.