Exercise Saif Sareea

Exercise Saif Sareea 1 was the first exercise held between 15 November and 8 December 1986. Nearly 5,000 British military personnel deployed for the exercise. Units that took part from the British Army included elements of 5th Airborne Brigade and 3 Commando Brigade. It also involved ships from the Royal Navy task group, and a detachment of Tornado GR1 and FR3 aircraft and air transport resources from the Royal Air Force. The exercise was the largest deployment to the Middle East in a single operation by the UK since the Suez Crisis in 1956. The joint headquarters for the exercise was at RAFO Masirah airbase, on Masirah Island in Oman. The exercise involved a demonstration parachute drop by 5th Airborne Brigade on a desert airstrip, with air support from the Tornado aircraft, and Omani Hunter aircraft forming the opposing force. ==Saif Sareea 2==

assault rifle participating in the exercise. Exercise Saif Sareea 2 was the second and largest Saif Sareea exercise which was held between 15 August and 26 October 2001. Over 22,500 personnel, 6,500 vehicles, 21 naval vessels, 49 fixed-wing aircraft and 44 helicopters were deployed; compared with the previous largest force of around 5,000 personnel. In addition over 11,000 Omani forces took part. Results . This exercise illustrated a number of problems in the British Army; the traditional "make-do" attitude to shortages of modern equipment and essential spares fell down in the face of the Omani weather. • Soldiers reported their uniform was too hot and those who had not been issued with desert boots suffered from foot problems as their combat boots melted in the heat. • The 66 Challenger 2 tanks suffered from poor reliability. This was not due to any inherent defect with the tank, but rather due to the failure of the Army to adequately 'desertise' the tanks (apparently on grounds of cost). The failure to fit appropriate filters led to substantial engine damage due to the ingress of sand and dust. Two squadrons of tanks were withdrawn from the exercise. • The SA80A1 rifle (the unmodified variant) suffered stoppages and jamming due to sand and dust ingress. Equipment Royal Air Force participating in the exercise. • Tornado GR4 (strike aircraft) • Harrier GR7 (strike aircraft) • Tornado F3 (fighter) • Chinook (transport helicopter) • Sentry AEW1 (airborne early warning) • Puma HC1 (transport helicopter) • C-130 Hercules (transport aircraft) • VC10 (transport aircraft/aerial refueling tanker) • Nimrod MR2 (anti-submarine warfare) • Falcon 20EW (Operated by F R Aviation in support of RAF assets) Royal Navy • (aircraft carrier) • (landing platform helicopter) • (landing platform dock) • (frigate) • (frigate) • (frigate) • (destroyer) • (destroyer) • (minehunter) • (minehunter) • (minehunter) • (minehunter) • (survey vessel) • (survey vessel) • RFA Fort Victoria (replenishment ship) • RFA Fort Rosalie (replenishment ship) • RFA Sir Tristram (landing ship logistics) • RFA Sir Galahad (landing ship logistics) • RFA Sir Percivale (landing ship logistics) • RFA Sir Bedivere (landing ship logistics) • RFA Oakleaf (replenishment ship) • FA2 Sea Harrier (strike fighter) • Sea King HAS Mk6 (anti-submarine warfare helicopter) • Sea King Mk4 (transport helicopter) • Lynx Mk7 (utility helicopter) • Sea King AEW Mk 2 (airborne early warning) British Army • Challenger 2 (main battle tank) • Lynx AH7 (utility helicopter) • Gazelle AH1 (scout helicopter) ==Saif Sareea 3==

in Oman. crossing the Omani desert. Exercise Saif Sareea 3 was the third exercise held between 5 October and 3 November 2018. It was the UK's largest deployment to Oman since the previous Saif Sareea exercise 17 years before. Over 70,000 personnel from the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces took part, as well as 5,500 from the British Armed Forces. The exercise lasted 10 days and consisted of five phases: Phase 1 involved the deployment from the UK to Oman of 2,000 soldiers and 185 armoured fighting vehicles, which was followed by Phase 2 consisting of national forces training. Phase 3 saw the integration of the UK Battle Group with Omani forces, followed by Phase 4, a final test exercise. The exercise culminated in Phase 5 which involved a firepower demonstration showcasing the combined effects of UK and Omani forces with a beach assault, aided by naval gunfire support, and a display of airborne firepower. The exercise's simulated enemy was Russia. The exercise was the first to be facilitated by the newly-established UK Joint Logistics Support Base in Al Duqm Port & Drydock, Oman. It ran concurrently with the UK's involvement in Exercise Trident Juncture 2018, a NATO exercise in Norway. • 3 × Chinook HC6 (transport helicopter) (No. 27 Squadron RAF) • 3 × Puma HC2 (transport helicopter) (No. 230 Squadron RAF) • 1 × BAe 146 (transport aircraft) Royal Navy • (landing platform dock) • (destroyer) • Wildcat AH1 (utility helicopter) (No. 659 Squadron AAC) The smaller scale of Saif Sareea 3 has been blamed on defence cuts, however, whilst the exercise was undeniably smaller than previous exercises, this has been attributed to the greater capability of newer equipment. Saif Sareea 2, for example, involved six landing ships but these were old, smaller and far less capable than the newer Albion and Bay-class landing ships involved in Saif Sareea 3. ==References==