Canadians On Call
Air Task Force Prestwick
130606 and 130604 parked on the ramp at Prestwick Airport. Both are assigned to 436 Transport Squadron at CFB Trenton.The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has boosted its air mobility capability within Europe with an increase in personnel and additional aircraft as they eye enhancements to their Air Task Force Prestwick detachment. The Hub and Spoke operations have allowed consolidation of support personnel, while permitting flexibility for air operations from a centralised hub. Trans-Atlantic CC-177 Globemaster and CC-150 Polaris flights flow in and out of the Prestwick Hub, while onward movement of cargo and personnel around Europe is handled by CC-130J Hercules.
The Prestwick Airport based hub has grown to 55 personnel and 3 CC-130J Hercules from 8 Wing at CFB Trenton in recent months. Upon its inception the Air Task Force has received media attention as being Canada’s launchpad for transferring lethal & non-lethal aid to Ukraine, however alongside these operations the hub also serves a range of Canadian national interests in the Middle East and Africa.
Major Justin Boates, Commander of the Prestwick Air Task Force provided an overview of the detachment:
“We (8 Wing) initially received notification of the hub being established on the 26th of February 2022 and within 5 days we had set up our hub and CC-130J's were flying from Prestwick into Europe with Ukrainian Aid. The key benefit of deploying our team to Prestwick is the geographic location – operating a mission from Canada into Europe or further east, we would be flying overhead Prestwick enroute in most scenarios. If we were operating direct from Canada to Europe, the aircrew would pass through multiple time-zones and be mandated up to 36-hours of rest, which equates to a massive time penalty with the aircraft on the ground for a long period. Our Task Force incorporates relief aircrews from 436 Squadron (CC-130J) and 429 Squadron (CC-177) who can keep the aircraft moving whether that’s further afield or back to Canada for other operational needs.
The Task Force averages around 10 missions per week. Prestwick has proven to be a great base for us as the crews can fly to anywhere in Europe and return in a single day, which benefits the crew as their rest period is back in familiar surroundings and the aircraft, spare parts and maintenance crew remain consolidated in one location”.
Patch design by the Task Force personnel featuring the Canadian and Scottish Flag, along with the Coat of arms of Ukraine. The Buffalo and Elephant below symbolise 436(T) and 429 Squadron, who make up the task force personnel.Supporting Op IMPACT & PRESENCE
The Kuwait-based Tactical Airlift Detachment under Op IMPACT has been temporarily absorbed into ATF-Prestwick, and is receiving episodic CC-130J support, in response to a surge in airlift demands across other locations. Prestwick has been chosen to be the primary hub for episodic support to the Middle East, and support to IMPACT has continued with little change to overall effectiveness. Additionally, Op PRESENCE, Canada’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping operations in Democratic Republic of the Congo is also being supported under the same concept. The Task Force is supporting these operations with 2–3-week episodic deployments of a CC-130J aircraft and aircrew from the Prestwick hub.
Major Justin Boates continued:
“Supporting Operation Impact and Presence serves the national interests of Canada; hence these operations will be treated as our priority. We alternate each month supporting these two operations - an aircrew and aircrew will be sent to support Op Impact in the Middle East, and then the following month an aircraft will deploy to Africa to support Op Presence. As the logistics hub we receive combined shipments from Canada onboard a CC-177, which we then split onto CC-130J's which fly them onto their destination. Depending on mission timing we may transfer cargo direct from one aircraft to another or temporarily store within our dedicated hangar space.”
Ukraine Aid Flights
Support to Ukraine is currently at the forefront of the Task Force with flights supporting the delivery of aid taking up the majority of their operations. Alongside aid donated by Canada the Task Force also facilitates the onward delivery of aid from other partners and allies.
Potential aid donations are listed and prioritised by the International Donor Coordination Centre located in Stuttgart, Germany, headquarters of U.S. European Command (EUCOM). Canadian coordinators will pass requests for airlift support to the Combined Joint Air Component (within 1 Canadian Air Division HQ at CFB Winnipeg) who will instruct the Prestwick Air Task Force to pick-up aid shipments from other countries to be transported in support of Ukraine. Looking forward there is little sign of these operating letting up:
Major Justin Boates continued:
“Ukrainian Aid is what we have been doing most since our arrival in Prestwick. The RCAF team here is incredibly proud of the work they're carrying out as they have a clear understanding of the impact the aid flights have made over these months. We have had an excellent experience operating from Prestwick and we hope that this continues into the future.”