Dutch Airforce undergo NATO training exercises at Cumbria's RAF Spadeadam
Kieran Macfadzean has been to watch the The Royal Netherlands Air Force and British RAF carrying out NATO training exercises at Spadeadam.
Credit: Dutch Ministry of Defence
The Dutch Royal Air Force has been working in partnership with RAF Spadeadam to carry out NATO training exercises in Cumbria.
The mountainous terrain surrounding the Lake District has long been used as a place for air forces from overseas to train in demanding environments.
The operation is called Tac Blaze and involves exercises during the day and night to recreate conflicts between two sides.
Wg Cdr Matt Lawrence from RAF Spadeadam said: "The terrain around here is very representative of Eastern Europe.
"If we do go to war, east is where it's likely to be.
"The equipment we have is the same equipment that is been used by Russia and many other threat nations.
"So hopefully, if there is a reason for NATO's go to war, we're preparing not only our own air force, but also those of NATO's - our very close allies."
Lt Col Boboostrom from the Royal Netherlands Airforce said: "We are very grateful for the Royal Air Force that they can accompany us for their training on the range but also very thankful for the Cumbria environment that can host this airfield.
The Dutch have been training in the Lake District for over a decade. Wg Cdr Lawrence said: "About 12 years ago, the Dutch came to us saying they haven't got the electronic warfare assets.
"The terrain in Holland is not ideal for training so they asked if they could come up and use spare capacity at the range.
"We got them over here and we delivered operational training ever since it's been a really successful partnership.
"They get operational training and we get training for our operators to make our own forces more capable.
"Britain gets benefits in training up a valued NATO ally in these uncertain times."
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