Reformation
The unit reformed with the Sea King ASaC.7 on 13 December 2006 at RNAS Culdrose, from 849 Squadron, B Flight. Its first tour of duty was on board RFA Fort Austin for a five month deployment to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, with aims of denying the passage of the seas to Al Qaeda, pirates, traffickers and smugglers. The squadron then headed to NAS Norfolk in Virginia, United States, for exercises with United States Navy fighter planes and carrier battle groups.
857 NAS returned to the Middle East in the first half of 2008, replacing her sister squadron 854 NAS on Operation Calash. It returned to carrying out maritime security operations. The squadron carried out operations in the North Sea on board HMS Illustrious, testing Airborne Early Warning capabilities.
In 2011, several of the Sea Kings were stated to be part of the Response Force Task Group.
Read more about this topic: 857 Naval Air Squadron
Famous quotes containing the word reformation:
“Go on then in doing with your pen what in other times was done with the sword; shew that reformation is more practicable by operating on the mind than on the body of man.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)