Soldiers from Brize-based 47 Air Despatch Squadron have been on a high after ticking off two notable firsts on the RAF A400 Atlas.
The loggies parachuted in a maximum haul from the workhorse in support of a Falklands exercise – the first time the feat had been achieved since the platform’s initial trials and its first full delivery overseas.
From 3,000ft crews dropped two-dozen, 900kg pallets near Goose Green in support of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, who were working through a routine exercise on their tour as the Roulement Infantry Company.
As reported in this magazine, 47 Squadron helped in a multinational effort to bring aid to war-torn Gaza last spring.
And squadron boss Maj Aaron Thompson (RLC) said troops continued to perform well on the latest outing. The OC told Soldier that the drop had helped prove a capability for future humanitarian actions, adding: “The load despatched was double the amount we were dropping over Gaza during the operation there in 2024.
“But it was also important in terms of fighting power, given that Gen Sir Roly Walker, Chief of the General Staff, has ordered an increase in the army’s lethality.”
Maj Thompson said his personnel were looking forward to hosting Omani colleagues in the UK on an instructional programme as they build their own nation’s air despatch capability.
