‘Harrier’ fighters from the 9th Aircraft Squadron train in air-to-ground firings in Las Bárdenas range.

From April 25 to May 5, a 6-plane detachment of the 9th Aircraft Squadron supported by a 56-strong contingent, travelled to Las Bárdenas firing range in Navarre (NE Spain) to conduct its biannual air to ground firing training.

The good weather conditions during the deployment permitted to carry out the scheduled drills and pilot qualifications tests in different all-weather firing modes (day and night). The ammunition used was MK-76 and MK-82 low-drag general purpose inert bombs and LGTR laser guided bombs.

In the second week of the mission, Spanish Navy marines participated in target acquisition and fire support tasks in addition to night/day close air support tasks with inert bombs.

The main laser designator used was the ‘Litening POD’ to acquire and designate targets. This fourth generation ‘Litening POD’ is equipped with a laser designator for precise firing of laser-guided munitions. The laser rangefinder provides information for various avionics systems, like the ROVER station, for navigation updates, weapon deliveries and target updates.

The biannual firing mission at the Bárdenas range is the most important periodic air-to-ground firing training carried out by the Spanish Navy’s 9th Aircraft Squadron, since it allows the firing of live and inert ammunition, thus keeping the Air Units qualified in this capability. It is also used to train personnel of the Squadron’s Weapons Division in tasks like preparation, assembly and disassembly of ammunition. It is the only place where training in Close Air Support missions with real ammunition is carried out.

The final result has been very satisfactory. In terms of training, the pilots managed to obtain all the expected qualifications, highlighting also the great precision of the launches (including those of unguided ammunition thanks to the use of the above mentioned ‘Litening POD’). The average precision of the guided and unguided ammunition has been of ‘less than 15 meters’.

The 9th Aircraft Squadron is made up by a wide and highly trained number of personnel. It boasts more than 100 military servicemen including officers, NCOs and soldiers. The mission of the AV-8B+ ‘Harrier’ aircraft is to provide the Naval Force with an efficient all-weather offensive vector. Other missions include identification, surveillance and reconnaissance of targets of interest, or conduct close air support to a force deployed on the ground.