Fighter Controllers on board HMS Defender [Image 5 of 19]

AT SEA, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

05.12.2023

Courtesy Photo

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet

Fighter Controllers on board HMS Defender

Pictured are 5 'Freddies' (Royal Navy Fighter Controllers) within the Operations Room on board HMS Defender during the beginning of Exercise Formidable Shield 23 in the region of the inner Hebrides.

The Freddies were controlling 4 'blue' (friendly) French Rafales engaging 2 'red' (enemy) French Rafales, a good opportunity to prove NATO interoperability and enhance working relations.

The term 'Freddie' comes from the NATO callsign for Fighter Controllers who are controlling aircraft.

HMS Defender is a type 45 destroyer air defence ship. Defender and her crew have been engaged on operations over the past 3 years, covering 4 major Oceans and most of the world's seas. Assisted by her Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron, the Portsmouth based destroyer is participating in exercise Formidable Shield 2023 in the North Atlantic, where the ship will work with the UK's allies showcasing the Type 45 destroyer as one of the world's best air defence ships. Formidable Shield is a biennial integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) exercise involving a series of live-fire events against subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets, incorporating multiple Allied ships, aircraft, and ground forces working across battlespaces to deliver effects. (Courtesy photo by LPhot Matt Bradley, Royal Navy)

• Date Taken: 05.12.2023
• Date Posted: 05.14.2023 13:56
• Photo ID: 7795590
• VIRIN: 230512-N-NO901-1001-G
• Resolution: 7792x4383
• Size: 4.8 MB
• Location: AT SEA, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN