British and French Army Helicopters Launch Major NATO Combat Readiness Exercise.

British and French army helicopter units have launched a joint NATO training operation from Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk. The large-scale Exercise Pinion Titan aims to validate allied air power and demonstrate the readiness of European forces for coordinated combat missions.

The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed on November 4, 2025, that a combined British and French Army helicopter force has departed Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk to start Exercise Pinion Titan, a major NATO aviation drill. The exercise brings together attack, support, and transport helicopters to test cross-border interoperability, mission planning, and joint strike readiness between two of NATO’s leading European militaries.
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A joint formation of 24 British and French military helicopters, including Apache, Chinook, Gazelle, and Wildcat aircraft, lifts off from Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk at the start of Exercise Pinion Titan, demonstrating NATO combat readiness and allied aviation coordination. (Picture source: UK MoD)

A total of 24 helicopters, including AH-64E Apache, CH-47 Chinook, SA342 Gazelle, and AW159 Wildcat aircraft, departed Wattisham in a coordinated “elephant walk” formation. This practice, routinely used by military aviation units, is intended to demonstrate aircraft availability, coordination, and synchronized flight readiness under simulated operational tempo. The event marks one of the largest joint helicopter departures conducted at Wattisham in recent years.

Exercise Pinion Titan is led by the British Army’s 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team. It includes participation from the Royal Air Force, French Army Aviation (3e Régiment d’Hélicoptères de Combat), and U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade. The operation involves more than 2,000 personnel, about 1,000 ground vehicles, and 50 rotary-wing platforms. The exercise will extend across various regions of the UK through late November.

The British Army 1st Aviation Brigade confirmed that the exercise is structured around two aviation battle groups, centered on the 3rd and 4th Regiments of the Army Air Corps (AAC). A U.S. Army planning team has been embedded with 4 Regt AAC, adding a joint planning dimension that reflects NATO standardization objectives. Initial planning and mission rehearsal will take place at Wattisham before units redeploy to forward locations across northern England, using dispersed operating bases to conduct flight operations from remote environments.

Operational scenarios will include deep attack, air assault, and reconnaissance missions across long-range corridors extending from the Scottish Highlands to Salisbury Plain. The integration of cutting-edge systems, such as unmanned aerial platforms, tactical data links, and advanced communication systems, will be tested under simulated combat conditions.

British AH-64E Apache helicopters, operated by 3 and 4 Regt AAC, will conduct deep-strike operations intended to replicate engagements beyond forward lines, focusing on disrupting enemy logistics and artillery. Wildcat helicopters from 1 Regt AAC will perform ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) tasks, providing targeting information and tactical awareness. RAF Chinook aircraft from 18 Squadron will execute tactical troop lifts and supply missions, supported by escort elements from both Apache and Gazelle platforms. French Army Gazelle helicopters will operate in dual roles of reconnaissance and light attack.

The Brigade Support Force, comprising 7 Aviation Support Battalion REME and 158 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, is responsible for enabling sustained operations. This includes forward repair capabilities, battlefield recovery, fuel resupply, and ordnance handling across dispersed sites.

Brigadier Nick English, Commander of the British Army 1st Aviation Brigade, noted that the exercise is the culmination of a five-year development cycle for the brigade. Since its establishment in 2020, the 1st Aviation Brigade has integrated multi-type rotary assets under a single command structure with increasing emphasis on digitization and NATO interoperability. Brigadier English described the deployment as a functional test of the brigade’s full-spectrum capability and readiness to support UK and allied operations in both Article 5 and out-of-area scenarios.

The exercise also supports UK–France bilateral defense cooperation following the renewal of the Lancaster House Treaties in July 2025. That agreement included provisions for deeper integration in air mobility, nuclear policy coordination, and joint responses to emerging threats such as hybrid warfare and drone-enabled strike systems.

Capitaine Damien, commander of the French helicopter detachment from 3e RHC, stated that the deployment offers a practical opportunity to build operational familiarity between British and French aviation units. He noted that for many soldiers in his contingent, this is the first operational exposure to integrated NATO aviation command structures. The French detachment will operate under British control throughout the exercise to test unified command, control, and communications systems.

The use of Wattisham Flying Station as a launch site underscores the station’s central role in the UK’s battlefield aviation posture. Wattisham is the primary operating base for the British Army’s fleet of AH-64E helicopters and houses core regiments and support units of 1st Aviation Brigade. The base also supports 653 Squadron AAC, which provides Conversion-to-Role training for Apache pilots.

Exercise Pinion Titan will continue through late November, 2025, with a focus on command post operations, dynamic mission planning, dispersed basing, and rotary-wing integration into multi-domain battlefield frameworks. A post-exercise analysis is expected to inform both national and NATO-level doctrine for rotary-wing force projection and sustainment operations under contested conditions.