VP-45, Australia Complete Sub Tracking Exercise Lungfish
By Lt. j.g. Christian Brumsfield, VP-45 PAO
RAAF LEARMONTH, Australia - Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to participate in exercise Lungfish 23 and Submarine Commander’s Course (SCC), Feb. 27-March 10, in Learmonth, Western Australia.
P-8A Poseidons from VP-45 and RAAF Squadron 11 completed over six day and night sorties and over 42 mission flight hours, working with submarines from Australia and the United States. Both SCC and Lungfish are annual events that assess maritime mission readiness and international cooperation between the United States and Allied nations. These exercises represent decades of proficiency and cooperation, and this year’s exercise continued that tradition, improving and expanding on both countries’ interoperability and tactical readiness in the Pacific region.
Both exercises were conducted out of Learmonth, Washington which proved to be a test of mission readiness and adaptability for the participating aircraft.
“As a senior pilot in the squadron, operating out of RAAF Learmonth presented a unique set of opportunities for our aircrew that we aren’t often exposed to in the maritime and aviation communities,” said VP-45 Lt. Zach Michel. “When there’s no control tower and little support infrastructure and it’s over 100 degrees [Fahrenheit], it becomes a race against time to get off deck and execute the mission you came to do. You quickly rely on those around you to be proficient and effective at operating the P-8 to its maximum potential in the most demanding and unforgiving environments, and that experience while working with the Australian crews is invaluable to our community.”
The VP-45 “World Famous Pelicans” are based in Jacksonville, Florida and are currently operating from Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan. The squadron conducts maritime patrol and reconnaissance, as well as theater outreach operations, as part of a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2023 03:35 |
| Story ID: | 443056 |
| Location: | AU |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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