Secret work done by RAF Lossiemouth Poseidon squadrons to track threats lurking under the waves will be showcased in the next episode of Channel 4’s Top Guns: Inside the RAF.
Personnel at the base are responsible for monitoring and tracking Russian submarines and ships straying close to UK waters.
Crews on P-8 Poseidon aircraft fly endurance missions over the North Atlantic and North Sea armed with some of the most sophisticated tracking equipment.
Now their work from Lossiemouth on the frontline of the UK’s defence will be showcased on the Channel 4 series Top Guns: Inside the RAF.
What missions do RAF Lossiemouth Poseidons run?
The last month has involved RAF Lossiemouth Poseidon crews running regular surveillance sorties with the Navy.
Crews in the air and on the sea have been tracking several Russian vessels operating close to the UK border.
Flights have been in the sky 24 hours a day to monitor the activity of the ships to try and predict future behaviour and act as a deterrent.
Wing Commander Benjamin Livesey, officer commanding 120 Squadron, said: “This has been a very busy period for the team from across Poseidon and RAF Lossiemouth, once again generating live operations from UK soil.
“I am immensely proud of how they all stepped up to the task and just delivered in a highly professional way.
“The deterrence we have enabled in recent days is important to the UK and NATO, with this a key reason for why Poseidon hold operational readiness 365 days a year.”
The episode will explain how the RAF’s sonobuoys work, which relay noises from the ocean to experts to pinpoint the location of ships and submarines.
Poseidon aircraft at RAF Lossiemouth have also been performing search and rescue operations and came to the aid of a yacht that had lost its mast in an Atlantic storm last year.
Top Guns: Inside the RAF north-east role in UK’s defence
The episode featuring the Poseidon’s of RAF Lossiemouth in Channel 4’s Top Guns: Inside the RAF is the latest to showcase Moray’s role in the UK’s defence.
The previous two episodes have gone behind the scenes with the base’s Typhoon squadrons.
Unprecedented access has been given to RAF Lossiemouth, the UK's busiest frontline station on high alert. Get up close with the service men and women at the heart of British defence, ready to scramble at a moment's notice. #TopGunsC4 Starts Monday at 9pm. pic.twitter.com/4wGgCVTuji
— Channel 4 (@Channel4) August 17, 2023
Crews are constantly on alert to be scrambled in response to potential Russian intruders or other unidentified aircraft.
The documentary crew spent 11 months behind the wire with personnel in Moray and Estonia to bring their vital work to TV audiences.
The next episode of Top Guns: Inside the RAF showcasing the work of the Poseidons at RAF Lossiemouth will be broadcast on Channel 4 on Monday, September 4 at 9pm. It will also be available online HERE.
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