Exercise Purple Warrior

Exercise Purple Warrior was a British military exercise conducted in south west Scotland in November, 1987.[1] The exercise was designed to test lessons learned during the Falklands War and is estimated to have cost around £7.5 million (equivalent to £21,251,179 in 2019).[2]

Most troops involved in this exercise left from Colchester by road to embark onto a small flotilla at Harwich docks and from there to the western coast of Scotland by beached landings. The Port Stanley situation was exercised from RAF West Freugh. HMS Illustrious was involved in the operation with 845 and 846 NAS embarked.[3] 1 and 43 squadrons from the RAF were also involved as part of "Blue force" (i.e., the invaders) seeking to capture West Freugh from "Orange force" (i.e., the defenders).[4]

The exercise was observed by 34 representatives from 20 countries, of which 12 being from Warsaw Pact countries[5] at a cost to the United Kingdom of around £21,000 (equivalent to £59,503 in 2019).[6]

References

Citations

  1. "Exercise Purple Warrior (1987)". Written-Answers. Historic Hansard. 1 July 1987. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  2. "Estimated costs for Exercise Purple Warrior". House of Commons. Historic Hansard. 8 December 1987. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. Hobbs 2014, p. 326.
  4. Beedle 2011, p. 476.
  5. "Exercise observers and military strength". Written-Answers. Historic Hansard. 16 November 1987. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. "Estimated observer costs for Exercise Purple Warrior". Written-Answers. Historic Hansard. 22 December 1988. Retrieved 30 April 2020.

Sources


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