An RAF Poseidon crewed by 120 Squadron has been conducting torpedo training in the Moray Firth.
The aircraft dropped an inert torpedo into the sea as part of an exercise to train the crews in anti-submarine warfare.
Crews regularly practice dropping torpedoes in the simulator, however, live training such as this gives aircrew and ground crew the opportunity to hone their skills and demonstrate the correct procedures in real life. The recoverable exercise torpedo, or ‘REXTORP’ was then recovered by weapons specialists on board a maritime support vessel and returned to RAF Lossiemouth.
This exercise precedes the release of tomorrow’s episode of ‘Top Guns’, a Channel 4 documentary which will take viewers ‘behind the wire’ of RAF Lossiemouth and the Poseidon, showing how such a mission requires a full-team effort from station personnel, including armourers, engineers, and aircrew.
Wing Commander Livesey, Officer Commanding 120 Squadron said: “Dropping a torpedo from Poseidon is a complex task which requires support across a large team. As we continue to grow the Poseidon Force, we will routinely undertake events such as these, to improve the lethality of Poseidon, enabled by those across the Whole Force at RAF Lossiemouth and beyond”.
The P-8A Poseidon is a Maritime Patrol Aircraft employed by the UK to carry out the roles of Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, and long-range Search and Rescue. Based on the Boeing 737 next-generation aircraft, it is fitted with a suite of cutting-edge sensors capable of detecting and tracking submarines and surface vessels.