In September 2025, Canadian military personnel flew to Estonia to participate in Operation Reassurance. Canada wants to offer support to NATO in this region of the world. The first exercise, Cobra Warrior 25-2, is scheduled to take place in Great Britain for six weeks, followed by Tarrasis 25 in Estonia.
Eighteen months of preparation were required to develop this operation. Some landings will take place on a highway to increase the level of realism and difficulty for the pilots.
As luck would have it, we happened to be passing through Bagotville on the day everything was getting underway. Positioned at the end of the runway, we were able to watch numerous aircraft take off, including an Eastern Airlines Boeing 777-200 chartered to carry approximately 160 Canadian military personnel. A Boeing C-17 and eight F-18s will also cross the Atlantic to take part in the mission. Aircraft from Trenton and Winnipeg will also participate in the maneuvers, including a CC-150 Polaris, a CC-130H Hercules, and a CC-130J Hercules.
At the same time as these departures were taking place, F-18s and Top Aces A-4 Skyhawks were coming in for landing after combat exercises in the Saguenay region.
Some of the photos were taken using a Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM fixed telephoto lens.
Click on the link for more aviation-related photos on my blog.