We’ve been taking on the dust in recent weeks. Several of our crews are currently overseas in the USA, in some cases renewing qualifications to land in a desert environment and in others learning this extremely challenging skill for the first time. 📸 Joe Copalman

27 Squadron are on Exercise Vortex Warrior in El Centro 🇺🇸 Check out what they have been up to recently 😎

With a large proportion of the Squadron still training in the desert, another set of our crews hit the maritime environment this week, returning to the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales once again. Great to see the ship’s Royal Navy team back at sea and to have Chinooks onboard once more!

Thanks to Captain Richard Hewitt and his team for having us back onboard HMS Prince of Wales this week. OC27 Squadron took a moment out of the cockpit to watch one of our junior pilots make his first ever deck landing…and we’re pleased to report the ship is no worse off for it!

Would you like to see what we’ve been up to in the USA recently? It’s been a very hot month working in an extreme environment for some of our team, as we endeavour to complete desert environmental qualifications. Check this out…!

In desert environments, the heat is the biggest challenge. To combat this, Chinooks and crews from RAF Odiham are conducting specialist desert training in 🇺🇸 at Ex Vortex Warrior. Air Vice-Marshal Alastair Smith aircraft are supported by RAF Engineering, RAF Logistics, Joint Helicopter Support Sqn and RAF Photographer.

We have some fantastic RAF Photographer talent in the Royal Air Force - we enjoyed having them with us on Ex VORTEX WARRIOR in the USA last month, capturing the training we conducted in the deserts of California. Check out their work for World Photography Day! 📸

Thank you to Dan Foster for these fantastic photos of ‘TUSKER’ - two of our Royal Air Force Chinooks supporting the British Army 🇬🇧 on Exercise PINION TITAN this weekend. We are entering our second week of focus on the Exercise and rapid planning most days to meet the task.

There will be a little less colour around RAF Odiham now. Last week we landed our specially painted #Chinook40 aircraft, #ZD984, at Fleetlands, near Portsmouth, where it will undergo Depth Maintenance for several months. Thanks for flying the flag 984! 🇬🇧 📸 Mark Russell

Happy New Year 🎇 Thank you to all our personnel for your continued contributions and commitment to the Chinook Force this year. Thank you also to our families, friends and followers who have supported us all throughout the year. Here’s to making 2024 another great year🥂

27 Squadron - on deck! It is always a privilege to support Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 tasking which leads to real effect across the globe. We may deploy all over the world on Defence Operations 🇬🇧 but today was about enabling OC 617 Squadron’s deployment onto HMS Prince of Wales so they too can do their job. #bonvoyage

EX Tartan Tusker, that’s a wrap! 27 Sqn had a fantastic couple of weeks in Scotland and are now home. Thanks to @royalairforceleeming, 6 Sqn, 2 Sqn, 51 Sqn, 45 @royalmarines Cdo, and @scotscav for a fantastic training opportunity for our crews!

We’ve been incredibly busy on 27 Squadron recently, with so many of our personnel supporting Defence Operations 🇬🇧 tasking, alongside UK training. It is always a privilege to support the next generation and so we sent a formation to do exactly that for Royal Military Academy Sandhurst this week! 🇬🇧

Back at sea for weapons trials, with 27 Squadron chinooks embarked.

Over the next fortnight we will be following Ex HAITHI POL, an interoperability Exercise, with crews from 27 Sqn and @joint_heli working with Royal Navy and Royal Marine colleagues aboard HMS Prince of Wales @hmspwls #RoyalAirForce #RoyalNavy #RoyalMarines #JointAviationCommand

Proof that you never really leave school in life…