In June 2007, the then CAS, ACM Sir Glenn Torpy, wrote to General Mike ‘Buzz’ Moseley to thank him for attending the RUSI Air Power conference. In the final paragraph of that note, Sir Glenn raised the idea that, as costs were escalating in the programme to replace the Nimrod R1 SIGINT platform, the RIVET JOINT option was ‘back in the frame’.

Six years and 5 months later, in Nov 2013, a UK RC-135W RIVET JOINT aircraft landed at RAF Waddington, the first of three for the RAF. The programme to replace the Nimrod R1 was called Project HELIX, which started well, but was swept aside when Moseley wrote back to CAS supporting the UK acquisition of RIVET JOINT.

What followed was an extraordinary period of cooperation, reflecting decades of shared intelligence effort between the UK and US. This presentation is about the human aspects as well as the programmatic, about the cultural, as well as the technical – it is about how 51 Squadron apparently disappeared when the Nimrod R1 was retired in 2011, but actually worked as hard as it ever had to cultivate the relationships with the USAF that would lead to unprecedented access, training and operational synergy in the coming years. ‘Co-Manning’ was the name given to the period of ‘hibernation’ that 51 Squadron entered in 2011 and this presentation outlines the tremendous challenges that were faced and overcome, the exceptional fortitude with which the USAF handled the British invasion of Offutt Air Force Base and ultimately, the extraordinary operational benefits that were accrued. It will begin, however, with a brief overview of the history of airborne SIGINT in the UK and US, particular where cooperation was evident. The presentation will move on to the role of the Nimrod R1 since the end of the Cold War and take a look at how the programme to replace it morphed into the acquisition of the RC-135 RIVET JOINT.

Wing Commander Garry Crosby was commissioned in 1991 after a 5-year spell as Non-Commissioned Aircrew flying on the Nimrod MR2 at RAF Kinloss. After his tour with 360 Squadron was cut short in 1994 when the unit was disbanded, Wing Commander Crosby joined what was then known as Ops/EW at RAF Wyton, providing support to 51 Squadron operations. He moved to Waddington in 1995 and joined 51 Squadron in 1998, first as an Electronic Intelligence Supervisor and later as a Mission Commander. Wing Commander Crosby saw service in the Balkans, African and Middle Eastern theatres during the tour, as well as serving in the Air Operations Centre in Riyadh during the first 6 weeks of the Afghan conflict in late-2001. A tour in HQ 2 Group followed, developing new mission system capability for the Nimrod R1, but in 2004 Wing Commander Crosby returned to 51 Squadron on promotion as a Flight Commander, responsible first for training and later for the Mission Crew. Operations over Iraq and Afghanistan were the norm during this tour. After a 4-month out-of-area deployment to Kandahar and Lashkar Gah in the winter of 2006/7, Wing Commander Crosby returned to RAF Wyton as the Requirements Manager on the Nimrod IPT. This involved work on the Nimrod MR2 in the aftermath of the tragic crash in Afghanistan in Sep 2006, as well as defining new capability for the Nimrod R1. Focus gradually shifted to Project HELIX as the MoD defined the replacement for the Nimrod R1.

Wing Commander Crosby led the first delegation to Washington in 2008 to follow up on the agreement Between CAS and the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force regarding the acquisition of the RC-135 RIVET JOINT. A tour at Air Command followed, as the desk officer responsible for Air ISTAR platforms. During this period, Wing Commander Crosby established the foundations for the Co-Manning programme, which would see over 100 aircrew and ground crew undergo training in the US, before deploying on operations around the world on USAF RIVET JOINT aircraft. The tour at High Wycombe was cut short when Wing Commander Crosby was selected to command 51 Squadron; he underwent training on the US RIVET JOINT as an Information Integration Officer, before returning to the UK in the summer of 2011 to assume command. Over the next two years, despite not having any aircraft of their own, Wing Commander Crosby and his team flew more than 25,000 hours with the USAF on training and operations, fully satisfying the personnel and training requirements ahead of receipt of the first UK RIVET JOINT in Nov 2013. Wing Commander Crosby left the Royal Air Force in 2014 and now works for Selex ES as the Head of EW Strategic Campaigns at Capability Green, Luton.

Date: Thursday 17 December 2015

Time: 6pm. Mulled wine and mince pies to follow.

Venue: Conference Room No 1, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, The Airport, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8RX

Advance Notification of attendance is required. Due to the current threat levels in the UK, Marshall has advised the branch that pre-registration will be required for this lecture and all visitors must bring their passport along to the lecture. In addition to this, any non British visitors must also supply a copy of their passport in advance of the lecture. Please pre-register by emailing Aaron Burns (aaron.burns@marshalladg.com) including your nationality and if you are non British provide a scan of your passport.

Visitors welcome. RAeS members, students and young people free. Visitors (including IMechE members) who are not members of the RAeS will be invited to make a £5 donation.

A poster for this event can be downloaded here.

This event is organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society Cambridge branch.