Members of RCAF’s 407 Squadron take prize at Exercise Sea Dragon in Guam

News Article / January 29, 2021

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Royal Canadian Air Force Public Affairs

A CP-140 Aurora aircraft and crew from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron and support personnel from 19 Wing Comox took part in Exercise Sea Dragon, held at Andersen Air Base, Guam, from January 12 to 28, 2021. Hosted by the United States Navy’s Seventh Fleet, Exercise Sea Dragon 21 is a premier multinational anti-submarine exercise in the Pacific region. This year marks the first participation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in the exercise.

The RCAF’s participation enabled substantial training opportunities for the long range patrol community working with allies and partners in the Pacific, including Australia, India, Japan and the United States.

This training is critical to ensuring the RCAF’s Aurora crews remain ready and able to conduct patrol missions at home and operate effectively with other nations, including those in the Indo-Pacific theatre.

The detachment’s exercise was very successful, culminating in their receiving the award given to the top performing crew on exercise with the most efficient tactics.

“Training alongside our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region is critical to maintaining an effective and interoperable RCAF Long Range Patrol capability to meet our Defence Policy mandate,” said Major General Eric Kenny, Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division. “I am very proud of our deployed members who demonstrated the professionalism, agility and mission-ready focus to take top prize during the exercise. I would like to thank the United States Navy for hosting this valuable and well-executed training opportunity.”

While COVID-19 precluded many exercises in 2020, the RCAF is safely and successfully engaging in training events at home and around the world through implementation of a number of safety measures, including pre and post-exercise quarantines, separate accommodations, minimal physical contact with other exercise participants and locals, and strict adherence to personal protective equipment use, and public health measures like two-metre physical distancing throughout the exercise, both on and off duty.

The CP-140 Aurora is a long-range patrol aircraft used for multiple types of missions over land and water.

The Aurora supports a wide variety of roles, including operations management, maritime and overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, strike coordination, and search and rescue. It can also assist other government agencies to combat, illegal fishing, pollution, drug trafficking, and more.