Our podcast spans the world to learn about the men and women who serve their countries, and we pride ourselves on showcasing senior leaders of allied militaries. This episode continues that trend.

Joining us is Group Captain Andrew Burton, the Deputy Commandant of the U.K. Air & Space Warfare Centre which is located at RAF Waddington.

The Air & Space Warfare Centre is the organization responsible for planning and hosting Exercise Cobra Warrior, a large scale exercise that happens twice a year (spring and autumn), with each serial running for approximately 3 weeks.

Our chat occurred late last year after the Cobra Warrior 2022 autumn serial, which had participants from the U.K., the United States, Germany and Italy; and it was the first time the Royal Air Force used the innovative SPEAR software.

We are bringing this discussion to you now because we are on the heels of the 2023 autumn serial of Exercise Cobra Warrior (23-2), which includes a first time participant with the Royal Canadian Air Force sending seven CF-18 fighters, and one CC-150 Polaris Air refueling tanker.

After arriving in the UK, the Canadian aircraft were supported by a Royal Air Force Voyager multi-role tanker transport aircraft, otherwise known as the A330 MRTT. That is the same type of aircraft that Canada has selected for its Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) project, so the exercise has already delivered great training value even though it has not officially started.

Exercise Cobra Warrior is a large force multinational and multi-domain tactics development exercise. Common serials within the exercise include Offensive Counter Air; Defensive Counter Air; Joint Personnel Recovery; and support of land forces.

You'll hear all about the exercise from Group Captain Burton, who said the ultimate goal is to develop it into the "Red Flag of Europe."

We thank Group Captain Burton for his time and insight into this impressive exercise.

Go Bold!