For the third consecutive year, a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora aircraft with crew from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron and personnel from 19 Wing Comox will participate in Exercise Sea Dragon at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Running from March 15 - March 30, 2023, Sea Dragon is a premier multinational anti-submarine exercise, with participating nations competing for the coveted 'Dragon Belt'. 407 Squadron is a back-to-back winner of this competition, having won in 2021 and 2022.
Exercise Sea Dragon consists of three parts: introduction and warm-ups, training exercises, and the Dragon Belt competition. Focusing primarily on anti-submarine warfare, the exercise culminates in over 270 hours of in-flight training, ranging from tracking simulated targets to the final challenge of tracking a United States Navy submarine at sea. During classroom training sessions, aircrew from all participating countries build plans and discuss tactics incorporating the capabilities and equipment of their respective nations.
This year's participants include the United States Navy, Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
