RAF Typhoons take part in low-flying exercise over 'Star Wars desert'

RAF Typhoon pilots have been pushing their skills to the limit alongside their Royal Jordan Air Force counterparts flying over a spectacular desert region where a number of blockbusters have been filmed.

Flying at speeds up to 400mph, the pilots from RAF Coningsby have been conducting flights just 500ft above over theWadi Rum desert in southern Jordan.

The desert was used for shooting films such as Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars and more recently Dune. The RAF said the low-altitude sorties were not dissimilar to those of the Star Wars X-Wings in the iconic films.

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Wing Commander Buchler, the Officer Commanding 3 (Fighter) Squadron, said: "It is nearly 20 years since I last flew over Wadi Rum in a Jaguar, but the landscape still takes your breath away as you cruise in from the north.

"The rich history of the region is symbolic of our close ties with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, and it is always a pleasure to conduct training serials with them.

"We fly and fight in a very similar fashion, and their support on Op Shader is extremely valuable.

"I look forward to joining their F-16s at low level over Stars War country in the coming years."

RAF pilots used the unfamiliar landscape to practise low-flying skills and fly around the mountainous desert terrain.

These skills are required for tasks such as evading adversary aircraft and air defence systems.

The Typhoon pilots flew in formation with Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16s as part of a series of training events with their Jordanian counterparts.