Aircraft enthusiasts are guaranteed exceptional shots of the world’s leading hardware during the regular ‘Joint Warrior’ exercises hosted at RAF Lossiemouth.
They have, however, been disappointed during the current exercise as while the Moray skies are once again alive with activity from German and Swedish aircraft joining the UK two notably participating nations are missing.
There are no United States or Belgian aircraft taking part in Joint Warrior this time around as they have been deployed in live missions over Syria and Iraq.
That has served as a reminder to those who are taking part just how important it is to practice the real-world scenarios that military personnel face around the world.
Exercise planner is Squadron Leader Duncan Laisney, who said: “Joint Warrior is designed primarily to help our headquarters staff train and validate.
“While it is unfortunate that real world events made the Americans and Belgians withdraw, the exercise still delivers the high-end training that the other participants want to get out of it.”
Joining the Tornadoes already based at Lossiemouth are several from the German air force, including one which weapons system operator Captain Kai Peters flies in.
He said: “This is my first time in Scotland and the weather has been challenging for sure. It’s hard work being a pilot – but it is the coolest job in the world.
“The training and preparation is very good – the only difference is with exercises like this you look at and add real life to what you see in the simulator.
“The Belgian and Americans had to pull out because they had to go to the Middle East and that just shows how important these missions are because they are out there doing it for real – any of us could be deployed at any time.”