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A Family Affair Exercise Lion Effort 2012Ian Harding reports from Ronneby on Exercise Lion Effort 2012, the first such event attended by all operators of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen

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Associating ‘family’ with fast jets may seem

unusual, but for those assembled at Ronneby AB in southeast Sweden during late March and early April this year,

it made complete sense. Ronneby is home to the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) F17 Blekinge Wing, equipped with the JAS 39C Gripen, and it was playing host to representatives of the five nations currently operating the multi-role fighter during Exercise Lion Effort 2012, the second time it has been organised. The first

took place at Kecskemét AB in Hungary, when Czech and

Swedish Gripens were hosted by the 59th

Tactical Fighter Wing based there. Lion Effort 2012 saw the previous participants joined by South Africa and Thailand

at Ronneby. The ‘Garden of Sweden’

provided the perfect backdrop for Gripen aircrew to train and learn together.

Ronneby Operations

F 17 Blekinge Wing comprises two JAS 39C squadrons, each operating approximately 20 Gripens, plus one base battalion. Also within the Ronneby Garrison is the 3rd Helicopter Squadron, which currently operates Eurocopter Hkp 10Bs (AS332 Super Puma) and AgustaWestland Hkp 15Bs (A109E Light Utility Helicopter). It is planned that in the near future, subject to

Paul Ridgway

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future government approval and funding, these helicopters will be joined by the NHIndustries’ Hkp 14 (NH90) presently based at Linköping-Malmen.

Ronneby is located close to the strategically important Baltic Sea region, and F 17’s Gripens play a vital role maintaining the integrity of the airspace over the area. However, it is not the only role for the wing, according

to Colonel Gabor Nagy, Base Commanding Officer and Lion Effort 2012 Exercise Director: “Recently we had a Kosovo force return after six months supporting the police there. We also have a small team, approximately five persons working in Kebnekaise, the highest mountain in Sweden, where the C-130J from Norway recently crashed, and we are

preparing a unit within a SAE [Swedish Air Element] C-130 unit, which will be part of our ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] mission, as well our [air] policing and ‘recce’ readiness flights, which we undertake every day. We also have an advanced exercise programme, with four or five national and international exercises coming.” F 17 recently supported Operation Unified Protector, NATO’s mission over Libya, primarily operating from Sigonella AB in Sicily.

Lion Effort PlanningLion Effort has grown significantly since the 2009 exercise in Hungary. While it provided Gripen operators with a unique opportunity to develop closer operational relationships, it was also a great platform to ‘showcase’ the Gripen brand, as witnessed by the number of senior international defence representatives present at Ronneby.

Preparations for Lion Effort 2012 commenced soon after the 2009 exercise closed, with the Swedish Air Force initiating an 18 months planning phase. All nations met in Luleå in northern Sweden in December 2010 for an initial discussion, culminating in a final meeting in December 2011. Central to the establishment of the exercise was recognition by the Gripen community (its operators and industrial components) of the need for a formal forum enabling users to co-operate and exchange operational and technical information on a regular basis. The result was the formation of the Gripen User Group in 2010, comprising export customers, various departments within the Swedish Armed Forces (including the Air Force) and Saab, resulting in the signing of a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the way forward. Lion Effort 2012 is part of the execution of the MoU as Major Anders Wendel, Deputy Exercise Director explained to AIR International. “The Lion Effort badge shows all participating nations that we are a Gripen family training together. The MoU confirmed among other things that we should have joint and common exercises and that all nations shall take part if possible. We have made a lot of effort for this Lion Effort to have all five Gripen nations participating in one way or another. The focus of the operational group within the

MoU is on seven main issues, which are flight safety, capability, development, operational procedures, development of combat techniques, combat and joint training exercises.”

Live FiringThe main part of the exercise took place between March 27 and April 5. Participants for this period comprised 300 personnel and 30 aircraft from five nations as follows:

Lion Effort was extended to incorporate the specific training requirements of the Hungarian and Czech Republic contingents, which had earlier accepted invitations from Sweden to undertake live-firing over the large Vidsel training range in the north of the country, as well as air-to-air refuelling (AAR). Hungarian Gripens detached to Vidsel for live-firing and low-level training prior to the formal start of Lion Effort, after which they were flown to Ronneby and the crews flew home for the weekend in an Antonov An-26 before returning for the exercise itself. During the live-firing phase Hungarian aircrew launched eight AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles at Rb 06 (MQM-107) target drones, as well as using the aircraft’s internal 27mm BK 27 cannon.

Similarly, Czech aircrews from 211 and 212 Squadrons were scheduled to return to Vidsel with three Gripen Cs for their live-firing training shortly after Lion Effort. To make the most

Czech Republic

three Gripens, plus three L159s ALCA from Cáslav AB, 52 personnel

Hungary five Gripens from Kecskemét AB, 42 personnel

South Africa

four Gripens from AFB Makhado, 41 personnel

Sweden 16 Gripens from Ronneby and Linköping AB, 250 personnel, one S 100D Erieye airborne early warning and control, one Tp 84 tanker (the same aircraft used during Unified Protector)

Thailand six personnel (observers) from RTAFB Surat Thani

Note: Thailand’s 701 Squadron ‘Sharks’ of F 7 Wing received its first six Gripens in February 2011 and were declared operational in July 2011. Its second batch of six aircraft is due for delivery in 2013.

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of their deployment they also accepted an invitation to put two pilots through AAR training using a converted Swedish Air Force Lockheed Tp 84 Hercules tanker. Colonel Ondrej Rejman, Deputy Base Commander at Cáslav said: “This was part of our mission here. We started AAR one month ago and we now have two pilots current on AAR; we want them to become AAR instructor pilots. They performed their first AAR after four to five FAMFLIGHTS [familiarisation flights] with their Swedish instructor. Our plan is to have four of five current to be ready for missions abroad.”

The ExerciseLion Effort provided an excellent opportunity for all participants to train and highlight the capabilities of the Gripen. F 17 personnel normally train in two vs two engagements, but the opportunity to operate with larger numbers of aircraft offered new experiences, according to Colonel Gabor Nagy: “This is not the same amount of aircraft you see at a Red Flag [held at Nellis AFB, Nevada] or Frisian Flag [in the Netherlands], but it is almost the same as we would do there.” He added, “Our experience from Libya is that the more you train

like this, the fewer problems you have when it comes to a larger scenario. You become more acquainted with what you should do when reading the ATO [air tasking order] – you feel more familiar when you have taken part in some of these exercises.”

Colonel Ondrej Rejman of the Czech Air Force reinforced this positive message: “We brought three ALCAs [Aero L159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft] to fly CAS [close air

support] and three Gripens to fly air-to-air, which is how we use them at home. Our main goals here are to cooperate with other nations, see how they fly missions [and undertake] planning and evaluation. We already have some package and OCA [offensive counter air] leaders and one pilot tried this role for the first time in his career [at Ronneby], so we now have another. Czech pilots had previously attended the NATO

Tactical Leadership Programme, but they have not done so for the last two years because of budget restraints. Those who completed the practical programme are COMAO [Combined Air Operations] leaders and exercises provide them with first-hand practical training experience. This exercise is perfect because it contains 30, not 100 aircraft – the complexity is high but not the highest.” Being able to train with non-NATO forces was also viewed positively.

SAAF in Sweden The idea of combat aircraft from the South African Air Force (SAAF) participating in a multi-national exercise in Sweden would have been unheard of a few years ago. The deployment generated a genuine sense of pride among all the No.2 Squadron personnel assembled at Ronneby and back home at Air Force Base Makhado (formerly AFB Louis Trichardt). The four SAAF single-seat Gripens flown by No.2 Squadron pilots arrived at Ronneby from the Saab facility at Linköping-Malmen on March 25. “We were very relievedwhen all four departed for thatpurpose and it was magnificent,a special moment, when they

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1 Czech Air Force JAS 39D 9820 departs from Ronneby’s runway 01. Ian Harding 2 All four Hungarian Air Force JAS 39C Gripens deployed to Exercise Lion Effort carried a Litening III target pod. Ian Harding 3 South Africa’s Gripens are painted in a different camouflage scheme to those operated by European nations. Ian Harding 4 F17 Wing based at Ronneby comprises 171 and 172 Squadrons each operating the JAS 39C Gripen. Paul Ridgway 5 South African Air Force JAS 39C 3926 returns to the flight line after the final mission of Exercise Lion Effort 2012. Ian Harding 6 Czech Air Force L159 ALCA 6053 returns to its parking spot at Ronneby following a close air support mission. Ian Harding

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appeared over Ronneby in a very special formation,” Colonel Pierre Venter, SAAF Contingent Commander told AIR International. They are the final four of 26 Gripens to be delivered to South Africa, comprising 17 Cs and nine Ds, and had remained in Sweden specifically for the exercise. Flying time on the aircraft ranged from only nine to 30 hours. All four Gripens returned to Linköping on April 5 and will be ferried to South Africa later this year.

While the SAAF has some limited international experience of COMAOs, flying missions when NATO countries have visited South Africa, Lion Effort provided a unique training opportunity for its deployed force, which included pilots (among them a Swedish test pilot), navigators, technicians, support, legal, medical and foreign relation staff, to evaluate

their deployment capabilities on this scale. SAAF aircrews prepared for Lion Effort well before arriving in Sweden. “We had some good build-up at the squadron prior to our departure,” said Colonel Venter. “The way the squadron trains is pretty much along generic NATO lines, so procedurally it has not been a major issue for the squadron to step into this multi-national exercise and [not] be ‘hamstruck’ by it.”

This view was reinforced by Lieutenant Colonel F J Labuschagne, an experienced pilot with No.2 Squadron, who has worked on the South African Gripen programme from the outset. “A few years ago we identified the importance of aligning our procedures,

planning, briefing and flying with NATO to enable us to seamlessly integrate and fly with and [in training] against European or NATO countries. We’ve been effectively operating a NATO doctrine for a while, although we kept our own tactical African-type scenario. Before coming here, we prepared by putting up as many assets as possible – nine to ten Hawks and six toseven Gripens at a time, somesimulated exercise planning,briefing for a typical COMAOincluding BVR [beyond visualrange], plus we worked up to twovs two merging engagements.We also focused on recce typestuff, although we do not haveour LDPs [laser designating pod]here.”

Logistical preparations commenced in earnest in January 2012 and gathered pace when exercise equipment left South Africa in a container six weeks before the exercise. With

the help of their national carrier, South African Airways, the SAAF contingent arrived at Ronneby on March 25, giving the personnel three days to prepare prior to undertaking familiarisation flights on March 29/30.

Lion Effort provided the SAAF with the perfect opportunity to train with other Gripen operators and to build upon the experienced gained providing air cover for the 2010 World Cup, which occurred around the mid-point in the Gripen delivery schedule. As Captain Kevin Chetty, a navigator of No.2 Squadron, highlighted: “We have a number of specific military objectives here. This exercise provides us with a great opportunity to validate our capabilities, [including] COMAO

planning – we do not do much of that in South Africa – and to learn how the Europeans operate with COMAO and OCA/DCA [offensive/defensive counter air] which is pretty new to us; international cooperation, working with other air forces and militaries, which again we do not do much of down on the tip of Africa, and finally testing our deployment capabilities 10,000km [6,214 miles] from home – we can see if our ‘log line’ [logistics] works and if our aircrew can operate in this kind of environment.”

Exercise ControlThe exercise had four principal objectives, which were to conduct COMAOs, to undertake combined logistics and maintenance, to confirm that these areas work, highlight the advantages of the Gripen and its user group, and to lay the

foundations for the future Lion Effort exercises planned to occur in the Czech Republic in 2015 and, provisionally, for South Africa in 2018. Overlying all these aims was a requirement that the exercise was conducted safely and that everyone enjoyed being in Sweden.

Lion Effort 2012 was ‘run’ by the Exercise Director, Colonel Gabor Nagy, assisted by his deputy, Major Anders Wendel, and an Air Director, Lt Col Anders Segerby, plus various teams responsible for host nation support. Lt Col Segerby covered all flying aspects of the exercise, including running the tasking ‘cell’ managing the ATOs, which were issued 24 hours in advance. Host nation support included maintenance and public affairs, as well as a specific evaluation group that considered planning for and execution of the exercise.

Aircrews undertook two days of familiarisation on March 29/30

1 Hungarian Air Force Gripens flew in mixed formations and took their turn as Red force defenders. Paul Ridgway 2 A South African Air Force crew chief

speaks with the pilot after the final sortie flown in Lion Effort. Ian Harding 3 A Litening III targeting pod carried by a Hungarian Air Force Gripen. Paul Ridgway 4 South African Air Force ground crew prepare to remove a centreline fuel tank.

Paul Ridgway 5 A Hungarian Air Force crew chief speaks with the pilot during post-flight checks. Ian Harding 6 Tp 84 Hercules Fv 84002/’842’, the only tanker

aircraft in the Swedish Air Force, took part in Lion Effort 2012. Ian Harding

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to ensure they were aware of all aspects of the exercise, air traffic control (ATC), ground locations, etc. During the final planning phase, the complexity of the tactical situation on the ground was considerably enhanced with the addition of ground-based air defence and ground control interceptors (GCI) from all nations stationed at Luleå and forward air controllers (FAC) from Hungary and Sweden located at Kosta, a former wartime air base. The exercise area incorporated most of southern Sweden and extended over the Baltic Sea in an area roughly 200km (125 miles) by 150km (93 miles).

During FAMFLIGHTS, GCIs communicated with civilian ATCs, who then co-ordinated the flight levels available to the aircraft. Airspace was separated in both time and space at altitudes between approximately 1,600ft (488m) and 39,000ft (11,887m). During the livex, GCIs again coordinated traffic with NOTAMs (notices to airmen) covering traffic restrictions in danger areas. In Sweden civil and military traffic usually share the same airspace. Notable ground locations within the exercise area included Lake Vernon to the northwest, Sweden’s largest lake, and to the south the island of Gotland, where much of the exercise activity occurred.

Major Wendel said: “We divided participants into Blue and Red forces. The task for the Blue force was to hit targets on or close to the island of Gotland, while the Red force’s objective was to hinder that and also take out air defence and targets around that area. We set up a COMAO to achieve this and all tasks were shifted around the nations. Some changes did, however, take place for serviceability reasons and to change the tactical picture. Within four days we had planned for four commander leads and also switched who was Blue and Red.” Hungary provided OCA but not COMAO leads.

Following a rest day, the main phases of the exercise took place between April 1 and 4, comprising a COMAO with two sorties, morning and afternoon, each day. Each sortie involved the rapid deployment of up to 30 Gripens (of which around six to eight aircraft were allocated to Red air) and three L159 ALCAs from both ends of Ronneby’s runway 01/19.

Elements of the COMAO were met in the air by a Linköping based Saab S 100D/ASC-890 Erieye providing airborne early warning and control, plus a Tp 84 tanker from Såtenäs supporting AAR requirements. Ground crew had approximately two hours

to prepare their aircraft for the afternoon’s mission.

Unlike many similar exercises there was no complex scenario with one country attacking another. This was not deemed necessary as the focus was on the planning and development of combat tactics and techniques. “We have set-ups, we fly and then we evaluate and learn from each other,” said Major Wendel. “Crews have a specific task and they talk to each other afterwards in order to develop their combat techniques.” The lack of a scenario had no impact on the pilots’ focus, according to Captain Robert Krznaric, Section Commander of 171 Squadron of F 17. “When you are flying you are on one side against an opponent, so you are acting as if from another country. You have to hit targets and do some recce missions in that COMAO. Even with no country, we are still thinking about it when we are flying and the RoEs [rules of engagement] were set so that we still have to hit a target. From the Red side the objective is to have air superiority and to harass the Blue side, making it difficult to complete their objectives.”

Linking-upAll of the participating nations were keen to see how the different datalinks fitted to their aircraft would work. The exercise also provided the first opportunity for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden to jointly test the planning and debriefing capabilities of Edition 19 Block II of the Gripen Mission Support System (MSS), the latest iteration of the unit delivered to all three countries. The results were positive and helped in the evaluation phase of the exercise, although national rules dictated what information could be released and shared.

Hungarian and Swedish Gripens operated as the Blue force with the Erieye during the first COMAO, primarily to test the Link 16 datalink, as they are currently the only nations with it. Ground-based GCIs and FACs used it to talk to the aircrews providing CAS. Lieutenant Colonel Csaba Ugrik, the Hungarian Air Force detachment commander explained the importance of validating this new equipment, “One of our main goals was to check how our new MSS and Link 16 cooperation worked, as we are working hard to have interoperability with other NATO nations. It worked very well. To fly with this datalink is like ‘opening the world’ for the pilot [who has access to all tactical information on a screen]. Here they received information from the Swedish [S 100D], which provided a really good picture of the air [situation]. We also used Have Quick radio and the Swedish Link, which worked well too. We received permission to use these common links in 2012.”

Having proven it works, Hungarian Gripens then flew mixed formations, alongside the others, taking their turn as Red force defenders. Czech aircraft, which do not yet have Link 16, were able to receive information using their in-flight TIDLS (tactical information datalink system), while the South African Gripens used their own, customised Link ZA datalink. Link ZA ensured that positional data for the SAAF Gripens was automatically available to each other, as they were unable to communicate with the other nations’ Gripens via secure modes. During the first day, Czech and South African Gripens were part of the same Red force, defending against Hungarian and Swedish attackers. To enable them to operate together Czech RoEs had to be adjusted, as they had no datalink communications with the South African aircraft. Despite this, the mission went well with aircraft from both nations exchanging positions within their combat air patrol.

This type of mission helps illustrate the importance of Lion Effort. On one side, two countries with Link 16 communicating with a compatible external asset provide each other with a real-time tactical picture, and on the other, a NATO and non-NATO country work with capable but dissimilar links to achieve a similar goal. The SAAF has been ‘NATO-ising’ its procedures

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and systems with external help for some time, which allowed it to be more capable in this environment than may have been anticipated.

“For the COMAO which we led, our most senior guys prepared everything from a procedural and planning perspective,” said Lieutenant Colonel Labuschagne. “We could have gone to the brief with this but we felt it

appropriate to run it by the Swedish planners beforehand, as we had not done this before. They really helped and went with us. In the fi rst two COMAOs we put guys on the OCA lead, the mission command lead and on the air interdiction role.”

Missions within COMAOs differed markedly from one day to another with nations changing roles as Labuschagne

highlighted: “The COMAO was the afternoon slot and in the morning our mission was a sector defence sortie, involving eight aircraft defending a sector with Red and Blue air. Our Gripens moved – Red air one day, Blue air the next. As Red air, which was really a training tool, you get a lot of restrictions on your weapon and radar capability. Basically, the Blue guys then shoot you all over the place. On the second day, we were on the Blue side and we had South African Gripens in the air interdiction role as well as the OCA. I think we did really well, although our problem is we are not in the same [data] link. It [Link ZA] is very similar in terms of what it displays and its capabilities, but it lacks some of the major sensors to fi ll up the picture and if you

are not on the same link then you do not have the same information as the other players. Right now ours is a South African fi ghter-to-fi ghter link. The other guys [with Link 16] had an AWACS up and received a ‘picture’ that when we saw it, we said that’s not fair!”

Logistics SupportAs important an objective for the user group was developing cross servicing capabilities and initiatives, for example evaluating what a Swedish technician can do on a South African aircraft. This capability is

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considered invaluable, proving itself during recent operations over Libya where Gripen was involved. While it sounds simple, especially given that Swedish technicians are well versed in such procedures, having been part of multi-national forces before, in reality it can be more diffi cult. On the whole it was easier for the Czech, Hungarian and Swedish technicians, who have similar contractual arrangements in place, than for the South Africans, who bought their aircraft directly from Saab

and who by necessity are more self-suffi cient. Unfortunately there were some initial serviceability issues to overcome on the SAAF aircraft which, although

disappointing for No.2 Squadron, were perhaps inevitable

given the aircraft were almost brand new and had not received a ‘normal’ shakedown. Ground crew resolved these issues quickly, but due to contractual arrangements it was not possible for Swedish technicians to simply ‘pitch-in’ and source spare parts and support directly as required. Major Wendel noted: “We do not know if we could have helped the South African contingent better, but it was not a [lack of] willingness. Air regulations were quite clear on how the Swedish can support the South Africans or even the Czech or Hungarians here. Thailand has identifi ed the same issue, so we will discuss it within the user group to see if we can fi nd another way.”

Out on the ramp all nations were extremely positive about the exceptional support they

received from the Swedish Air Force. An important part of this process included the provision of ramp chiefs, whose task it was to ensure smooth operations on the international fl ight lines, although each nation was responsible for its own maintenance. The technicians from all nations confi rmed they have broadly similar maintenance procedures in place for the Gripen. Of particular note is that generally only two technicians are required to prepare an aircraft, as they are trained in all elements of its care.

EvaluationLion Effort 2012 was a major exercise for Sweden and the F 17 Wing and extensive planning was undertaken to ensure the differing objectives of each country were met at both personal and technical levels. With different levels of operational and fl ight experience, the ‘lighter’ touch

applied to the complexity of the COMAO scenarios did not detract from the fl ying and was appreciated by the participants.

The full evaluation process will be completed by the end of 2012, but initial results are that Lion Effort was a major success meeting all national objectives in terms of event planning, air tasking, ‘links’ between the different nations’ aircraft, procedures fl own during the combat scenarios compared to plans and as a preparation and training tool for aircrew.

Initial lessons learned include the need for more time to prepare missions via the MSS (which would allow more information and instructions to be pre-loaded and handled by the aircraft, ultimately reducing the burden on the pilot) because of the use of new equipment such as Link 16, and also the cross servicing issues. These issues will be processed by the user group to improve Gripen operations in the future. As for co-operation and better relationships within the Gripen ‘family’, Lion Effort 2012 proved

a winner from the

outset.

1 JAS 39C-equipped No.211 Squadron (211.tl) of the Czech Air Force is a member of the NATO tiger

community. One of the squadron’s aircraft JAS 39C 9243 added some colour to Exercise Lion Effort with two tiger stripe fuel tanks fi tted. Ian Harding 2 Taken after

the fi nal mission of Lion Effort 2012, this fi rst of its kind shot depicts a row of four JAS 39Cs comprising one from each of the participating nations. Paul Ridgway

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