Canadian Air Task Force's UK operation at Prestwick expands

A RCAF CC-130J Hercules taxiing at Prestwick Airport. (Janes/Sam Wise)

The Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF's) Air Task Force – Prestwick (ATF-P) in western Scotland has expanded since its inception in March 2022, the organisation has told Janes .

In the three-and-a-half years since it began, the 1 Canadian Air Division (1CAD) detachment has brought increased local parts storage, additional administrative personnel, and an enhanced operations capability to enable ATF-P to better support the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC)-led Operation ‘Reassurance' (focused on deterrence in Central and Eastern Europe) and Operation ‘Presence' (focused on peacekeeping) using the detachment's three Lockheed Martin CC-130J Hercules aircraft.

By increasing local parts storage for the aircraft in facilities rented from Prestwick Airport, the detachment is able to perform maintenance in shorter time and increase serviceability compared with having to wait for parts delivery from Canada.

It has also incorporated operations personnel into ATF-P who were previously located at NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) in Wiesbaden, Germany, in order to enable smoother workflow in generating the detachment's missions.

Both of these additions required renovation and improvements to existing airport buildings, some of which had been largely unused for decades, in order to bring them to the required security and safety levels for the detachment's needs.

The RCAF has also brought administrative personnel to ATF-P, including two financial services administrators and two human resources administrators. This has allowed the personnel deployed to Prestwick to manage personal expenses and time, as well as other work-related issues, without delays that might otherwise arise from the time difference between the United Kingdom and Canada.

Speaking to Janes