Warfare in News

Apache gunships – the most potent helicopter in Britain's arsenal – has returned to the flight deck of HMS Illustrious for training in the North Sea ahead of a visit by the ship to Tyneside which begins tomorrow.

Three Apaches from 656 Squadron Army Air Corps have joined the helicopter assault ship, along with Commando Helicopter Force Sea Kings of 848 Naval Air Squadron, to refresh their knowledge of operating the fearsome aircraft at sea.

The Apaches will depart before Lusty, as she is known, heads north to lead the UK input to the winter war games in Norway, Cold Response. She will serve as the command ship for Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, who with his Commander Amphibious Forces staff will be directing the movements of Allied warships during the NATO exercise.

The carrier will arrive on Tyneside today for a four-day visit to mark her 30th birthday – three decades after she was built at the Swan Hunter yard in Wallsend. Workers there – who also built the Ark Royal – built the 22,000-tonne warship over three years.

Apache gunships – the most potent helicopter in Britain's arsenal – has returned to the flight deck of HMS [i]Illustrious[/i] for training in the North Sea ahead of a visit by the ship to Tyneside which begins tomorrow. Three Apaches from 656 Squadron Army Air Corps have joined the helicopter assault ship, along with Commando Helicopter Force Sea Kings of 848 Naval Air Squadron, to refresh their knowledge of operating the fearsome aircraft at sea. The Apaches will depart before [i]Lusty[/i], as she is known, heads north to lead the UK input to the winter war games in Norway, Cold Response. She will serve as the command ship for Major General Ed Davis, Commandant General Royal Marines, who with his Commander Amphibious Forces staff will be directing the movements of Allied warships during the NATO exercise. The carrier will arrive on Tyneside today for a four-day visit to mark her 30th birthday – three decades after she was built at the Swan Hunter yard in Wallsend. Workers there – who also built the [i]Ark Royal[/i] – built the 22,000-tonne warship over three years.