While sister squadron 800 prepared to disband for a couple of years, 801 Naval Air Squadron continued to flex its muscles against formidable ‘enemies’ in the skies over the Mediterranean.

The Sea Harrier FA2s, normally based at Yeovilton in Somerset, flew south to the Italian island of Sardinia for a ten-day training exercise, along with a contingent of US Air Force F-15 Eagles normally based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

The Harriers were delayed in transit by bad weather, and had to spend two nights at Salon in France, but once in position they were straight into a session of Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) against the F-15Cs of the USAF 493rd Squadron.

It quickly became apparent that the Americans held a number of trump cards – two powerful engines with afterburners, and the lift provided by huge wings and large control surfaces making the F-15C a formidable opponent.

But the Sea Harrier’s ability to tumble out of sight, by rotating jet nozzles in flight, and to fly very, very slowly, caused more than a few awkward moments for the American pilots.

After the familiarisation period, sorties progressed to Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air intercepts, utilising the powerful radar equipment on both sets of aircraft and their respective air-to-air missiles.

The numbers of aircraft involved increased as the simulated missions became more complex, with up to 18 jets flying for the blue (friendly) or red (enemy) forces at any one time.

And by this stage F-15E strike aircraft of the USAF 494th squadron were also joining in.

Older personnel of 801 Squadron remembered the Sardinina base from the days when it had a strong RAF presence, but now it is shared between the Italian and German air forces, who did a fine job of hosting their British guests despite language barriers.

Social events throughout the stay included quiz and ‘Harrier racing’ nights, organised by the senior rates, and an Under-25s v Over-25s football match.

With the late winter weather in Somerset being indifferent at best, exercises such as this give the squadron a good work-out; no sorties were lost to poor weather – or to unserviceable aircraft, which was also a tribute to the engineers and squadron support staff.

801’s Sardinian training was due to be consolidated by a detachment to Poland, where the Sea Harriers could cross swords with the formidable Mig-29 Fulcrum.