Mission Rehearsal exercise 12     SPTA

 

From the 1st to the 14th February 2010, Mission Rehearsal exercise (MRX) 12 took place on the Salisbury Plain danger areas. The MRX allows the  troops to carry out patrols and operations in a 'fictional Theatre'

The exercise is  also intended to create an environment that imitates, as far as possible, the hostility and challenges the troops are likely to face in Afghanistan.

 

 
The major pre-operational deployment training exercise involved up to 3,500 soldiers, 430 wheeled and 70 tracked vehicles. Air support included helicopters from the Navy, RAF and Army.
Major call signs and players used in this exercise:- Apache Ah1 ( Archer) Lynx (Sumo) Merlin (Kukri) Chinook ( Castle) Sea king (Renegade) plus Gazelle, Hercules, Sentinel and fast Jets.
I visited the forward refuel point ran by the RAF Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) on the 5th of February.