2 Squadron participation in
exercise Good Hope II
A formation of Tornados
and Cheetahs ingress at 150 ft above sea level to carry out
simulated air-to-sea missile strikes against the German
Naval Task Group while more Cheetahs fly in a Combat Air
Patrol overhead the threat axis to provide air defence to
the Naval Task Group. Another formation of Cheetahs and
Tornados fly fighter sweeps. Displaced some sixty miles from
the Naval Task Group, the combat air patrol (CAP) has
detected and positively identified the inbound strike
package of Tornados carrying Kormoran anti-shipping sea
skimming missiles. SAAF fighter controllers monitoring the
situation on radar, give the order for the CAP to
commit to the inbound aggressors and the chase is on. Will
the aggressors reach the Naval Task Group to launch their
deadly sea-skimming Kormoran missiles, or will 2 Squadron’s
combat air patrol manage to intercept the intruders and
remove them from the fight before they can launch their
missiles?
Radars lock-on to the aggressors, then visual contact as the
Cheetahs close in and proceed to engage the aggressors. A
dogfight ensues. Some ‘Fox 2’ kills are claimed but remnants
of the aggressor package still make it through to the ships.
The missiles are launched by the aggressors, but the Naval
Task Group, having detected the inbound strike package,
begin countering the attack through defensive manoeuvres,
electronic warfare and using anti-air weapons. More kills
are claimed by both sides. Raid assessments are done by the
Warfare Officers and at the debriefing, the conclusion is
reached that virtual Berlin was successfully defended as the
combined forces reached a standard of cooperation not
expected at the planning stages of the exercise.
This
is mission training at its best; the closest a fighter pilot
can get to the real thing during peacetime. This was
Exercise Good Hope II that took place around the Cape of
Good Hope from 20 February 20 to 17 March 2006. Involving
about 1 300 sailors and airmen as the navies and air forces
of the two countries conducted operations using ‘live’
firepower, weapons systems and electronic warfare in the
largest exercise conducted ever by the German Federal Armed
Forces (Bundeswehr) outside NATO. The objective of this
exercise was to further extend the existing co-operation
between the SANDF Force and the Bundeswehr and at the same
time, improve and build up its peace keeping capability.
The German Naval Task Group, consisting of four ships,
represented some of the most modern units of the German Navy
and was reinforced by a German Air Force detachment of six
Tornado aircraft of Reconnaissance Squadron 51 “Immelman”.
The exercise was not a friend-or-foe operation, but rather
one that sought to enhance military interoperability. As
such, two of the world’s most advanced warships, South
Africa’s SAS Amatola and Germany’s FGS Hamburg, together
with the fighter aircraft, protected a virtual Berlin from
attack.
2 Squadron deployed with eight aircraft and operated from
AFB Overberg for the duration of the Joint and Combined
exercises. The
exercises also included flying tactical exercises, air
combat and flight refuelling with the Squadron 51. The
German forces also had excellent exposure, particularly to
the ocean conditions experienced around the Cape coast which
are unlike those in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. An
additional spin-off from the exercises was that the Germans
were also able to test their Kormoran air-to-sea missile at
the Overberg Test Range, one of the few sites in the world
offering open sea and air space for such large exercises.
Although the naval warfare exercise was essentially a
surface and air operation, one salient factor to emerge was
that South Africa has not developed a maritime role for its
air force. "South Africa does not have a dedicated maritime
role for the Cheetah, which is an inland squadron focusing
on air defence," said Colonel Leon Bath, of the South
African Air Force.
An added bonus of co-operation, a combined formation flypast
was conducted over the Victoria Wharf on Saturday 4 March as
the Bundeswehr celebrated its 60th anniversary. The public
was also given the opportunity to visit ships of the host
country and of the German Navy that had come up alongside
for public viewing.
The month-long Exercise ‘Cape of Good Hope II certainly
provided 2 Squadron with a taste of the major tactical
challenges it can expect to face in any future combined
peace-keeping or conventional warfare. |