1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment training to go by air to battle.

1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment (1 R IRISH) collaborated with an RAF Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft at RAF Shawbury to enhance their air landing proficiency. During this exercise, troops efficiently loaded and secured Land Rovers and Jackal 2 patrol vehicles onto the aircraft and practiced rapid disembarkation techniques.
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Jackal 2 from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, driving off the RAF A400M after a Rapid Air Landing at RAF Shawbury on Exercise Pegasus Clover (Picture source: British MoD)

The skills acquired during Exercise Pegasus Clover hold significant importance for the unit's role within the 16 Air Assault Brigade, the British Army's rapid response force with global capabilities. This brigade is specifically trained and equipped for swift deployment by air in response to international crises, encompassing missions ranging from evacuations to full-scale warfare.

1 R IRISH, stationed at Clive Barracks in Tern Hill, serves within 16 Air Assault Brigade as light reconnaissance strike infantry, a pioneering concept that the unit is actively developing. The primary objective is to provide a highly mobile force, bolstering the brigade's firepower and reconnaissance capabilities, with the flexibility to deploy through either air landing or ground transportation.

Major Matt Hazlett, Officer Commanding C (Ranger) Company, emphasized that the essence of the light reconnaissance strike role lies in its mobility. He stated, "Our mobility is paramount. We must possess the capability to swiftly transport our troops and vehicles worldwide by air, and then employ our mobility on the ground to accomplish the mission." In the event of an operation, 1 R IRISH would be the initial troops with mounted vehicles to arrive at an airfield previously seized through a parachute or helicopter assault. Their mission involves securing and expanding the foothold. Over the past few years, they have been refining this concept and the requisite skills, primarily by practicing their ground role. The current training represents the next phase, focusing on building their air mobility capabilities.

Lance Corporal Jordan Allen, a Jackal commander in 1 R IRISH's Machine Gun Platoon, shared his perspective on embracing this new role. "Taking on this new role has been a rewarding challenge. We transitioned from Husky vehicles to Jackal, adapted our existing knowledge, and acquired new skills. This exercise marked the first occasion where we tactically loaded and unloaded our vehicles from an aircraft, and there were some nerves as we backed up the ramp onto the aircraft due to the tight fit."

In 2021, 1 R IRISH rejoined the 16 Air Assault Brigade as part of the Future Soldier vision, aimed at transforming the Army into a more agile, lethal, and expeditionary force. The regiment boasts a proud history within airborne forces, previously serving as part of the 16 Air Assault Brigade from 1999 to 2015 and tracing its lineage back to the 1st Battalion The Royal Ulster Rifles, which executed glider landings on D-Day (6 June 1944).

Defense News January 2024