Bombardier (Bdr) Daniel Bliss of 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery (7 PARA RHA) , as part of the Fire Support Team (FST), observes the target area from a dug-in observation post during Exercise Sphinx Resolve. The British Army’s big guns have returned to the STANTA ranges in Norfolk.

Exercise SPHINX RESOLVE has seen 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery fire the first artillery shells at STANTA for more than a decade, with the ranges having been used as the main location for troops preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

The training is part of Colchester-based F (Sphinx) Parachute Battery’s preparations to be part of the Air Assault Task Force, which is ready to deploy anywhere in the world at short notice for operations from disaster relief to war fighting.

During the week-long exercise the battery’s Fire Support Teams, which co-ordinate artillery, fast air and attack helicopter support to troops on the ground, worked out of observation posts to identify targets for its six 105mm Light Guns to engage. Troops lived in the field and constantly moved to set up different gun positions.