Hill provides training resources to RAF unit Published March 26, 2007 By 1st Lt. Genieve David 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- A Royal Air Force detachment began using the Utah Test and Training Range March 11 as part of its live weapons training here. The RAF detachment consists of nine Tornado GR-4 aircraft, and more than 100 crew members, maintainers and support staff needed to keep the detachment running. "The opportunity to train with resident F-16s at Hill and a Tactical Air Control Party -- just as we have been doing for many years in theatres of operations ranging from Afghanistan to the Balkans -- makes the training more useful in real-world operations," said RAF Squadron Leader Mal Craghill. "Newly trained crews are also involved in the training here," Squadron Leader Craghill said. "The bottom line is that everyone will benefit from the training facilities at Hill and the Utah Test and Training Range." A typical scenario consists of U.S. service members hidden deep within the Utah Test and Training Range, surveying the area, watching for movement and preparing for the day's activities. They survey the area around them for nearly half an hour, watching for movement when suddenly their portable ground-to-air radio bursts into life at precisely 8:30 a.m. "Titan 12, this is Mentor 41," an unmistakably British voice states. "Mentor 41, Titan 12 has you loud and clear. Go ahead." The crew of the lead RAF Tornado GR4 has told the Tactical Air Control Party, or TACP, their position at 14,000 feet while carrying two 1,000-pound laser-guided bombs and 120 rounds of high-explosive bullets. "We have 30 minutes available ... ready for tasking," said the TACP representative. "Mentor 41, roger ... we are assisting a platoon of U.S. Army Rangers who are pinned down by enemy mortar fire. The friendly troops are on the southern edge of an East-West ridgeline and are taking fire from a building 800 meters to their southwest. I need one GBU-16 into the enemy position right now. Do you copy?" said the RAF service member. The TACP representative gave Mentor 41 the go ahead for release. As Mentor 41 and 42 position for the attack, Mentor 43 and 44 circle high above the Utah skies looking out for ground threats. Mentor 41 radios "10 seconds-in-live" to the TACP, who then activates his laser that guide the Tornado's bomb to the target. The pair of GR4s peel away at the weapon release, and the crews scan the skies, around them, for their wingmen. A request for an immediate re-attack with guns resounded. Mentor 43 flight was cleared to provide fire power at close range. Similar scenarios will play out at Hill's Utah Test and Training Range as RAF forces continue their training here through April 13. (Editor's note: Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Mal Craghill contributed to this story)