23 Oct 23. Farewell flight: EDA transfers helicopter programmes to new centre in Portugal. The European Defence Agency (EDA) has handed over its long-running helicopter training programmes to a dedicated centre in Portugal, marking an end to one of the Agency’s most successful ventures in its 19-year history.
On 1 January 2024, the Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC), hosted by Portugal at Sintra Airbase No. 1, will reach Initial Operational Capability (IOC). Full Operation Capability should be achieved in 2026. The MHTC project is supported by 14 European countries.
Helicopters are one of the key enablers in today’s military operations, providing transport and combat capabilities across all kinds of terrains.
With no equivalent in NATO, EDA’s helicopter programmes have included several training activities, including tactics, electronic warfare and ‘Composite Air Operations’ planning courses, multinational exercises and an annual helicopter tactics symposium.
Those aim to improve European helicopter interoperability and to foster improvement of the helicopter crews and personnel in the tactics of modern warfare and operations. They regularly involve the participation of air force, army and navy personnel and assets, including helicopters, fast jets, transport aircraft, air defence equipment and ground troops.
“EDA’s helicopter programmes are a prime example of European defence cooperation,” EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý said during the transfer ceremony on 28 November 2023, which was attended by Portugal’s Minister of Defence Helena Carreiras, as well as military and civil authorities from Portugal and from the countries belonging to the EDA helicopter programmes and MHTC. “Enhanced cooperation is a must if we want to increase the readiness, strengthen the resilience and modernise our Armed Forces,” he added.
Minister of Defence Carreiras said: “Our joint commitment to enhancing European defence projects such as the Multinational Helicopter Training Centre reflects a forward looking approach by emphasizing cooperation interoperability and preparedness.”
She added: “We are able to respond together more effectively to collective security challenges, and therefore, to contribute to a safer and more stable European landscape.”
Following the ceremony, helicopters performed a personnel recovery demonstration involving a AW-119 Koala and an EH-101 Merlin.
EDA launched its helicopter training activities in 2008. It helped to bridge a capability gap highlighted by shortcomings during European missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans, when military personnel lacked know-how in helicopter tactics, and as some Member States needed extra training as they shifted from Soviet-era helicopters to newer Western models.
EDA Helicopter Training Progammes in figures
Between 2009 and 2023, EDA exercises have deployed over 340 helicopters, 2,325 aircrew members and over 15,000 military personnel. Fully 1,050 aircrew members from 20 different countries have graduated from the EDA Helicopter Tactics Course over its 81 editions. In addition, 163 helicopter crew members from 10 different countries have graduated from the Helicopter Tactics Instructors Course over its nine editions.
EDA’s 14th and final Helicopter Tactics Symposia took place earlier in November, when some 70 specialists from 15 European countries including Ukraine, as well as representatives of NATO, gathered for that event.
In total, military and industry instructors have delivered more than 20 Electronic Warfare and Composite Air Operations planning courses. Furthermore, EDA has created its own helicopter Standard Operating Procedures, which are the basis for all training. They help to foster standardisation and improve interoperability levels.
All these activities have been delivered across Europe, although all ground and simulator training has been performed exclusively at the EDA helicopter training centre, formerly located in the UK, and since 2020 in Portugal.
But more than that, during the last one and a half decades, EDA has delivered helicopter training philosophy and its activities that provided valuable, tangible, and immediate results to Member States, and which have supported the improvement of the European helicopter capability and the interoperability of helicopter crews.
EDA as a catalyst
Even with EDA’s success in the helicopter training, Chief Executive Šedivý underscored the Agency’s broader role in forging defence cooperation in the European Union. EDA’s core task is not to be a training institute, but rather a catalyst for cooperative activities, he said.
“We are here to launch the initiatives that can provide an added value to Member States. When they reach a sufficient level of maturity, we transfer them to willing and able Member States or multinational organisations, allowing for EDA to free-up resources and focus on developing new initiatives,” Šedivý added. (Source: EDA)
14 Dec 23. Rheinmetall and Airbus transfer another simulator for Europe’s A400M transport aircraft to the Bundeswehr. The tech enterprise Rheinmetall and the European aeronautics and space company Airbus have transferred an A400M cargo hold simulator to the Bundeswehr’s 62nd Air Transport Squadron (LTG 62) at Wunstorf in Lower Saxony. The Cargo Hold Part Task Trainer (CPTT) complements existing simulators and training systems at the German Air Force’s A400M Training Centre. In Wunstorf, cargo hold crews already train (among other things) on the advanced Cargo Hold Trainer Enhanced (CHT-E).
Airbus, manufacturer of the European A400M military transport aircraft, contracted with Rheinmetall in February 2021 to supply two CPTT training simulators to the Bundeswehr’s Wunstorf and Altenstadt bases. The order was worth a figure in the lower-two-digit m-euro range. The Air Movement Training Center in Altenstadt already took delivery of the training simulator at the end of 2022. Cargo personnel and paratroopers have been successfully training on the system ever since. The transfer of the second Rheinmetall simulator brings this elaborate project to a successful close.
The A400M CPTT is an exact replica of an A400M cargo hold, enabling cargo crewmembers, paratroopers and ground personnel to train in a highly realistic environment. The CPTT makes it possible to practise mission-specific alteration of the cargo hold, load preparation, loading and unloading, in-flight and ground procedures as well as cooperation between crewmembers. The system is equally suitable for initial and advanced training as well as refresher courses and mission rehearsal purposes.
Complex scenarios and emergency situations can be practised in complete safety. This way, training never ties up the original equipment, which remains available for actual operations. In addition to training operations, the CPTT enables users to evaluate, test and qualify procedures and configurations for new load types.
Besides the CPTT Rheinmetall has supplied various A400M user nations around the globe with other cargo training devices such as the Load Master Work Station Trainer/LMWST and the aforementioned CHT-E. With the transfer of the CPTT to LTG 62, a total of ten highly realistic A400M simulator systems from Rheinmetall are now assuring a high standard of training and instruction in the A400M cargo domain.
In 2019 Rheinmetall transferred a CPTT to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Moreover, CHT-E simulators have already been supplied to the Airbus International Training Centre (ITC) in Seville, the Royal Air Force in Brize Norton, the German Air Force in Wunstorf, and the French Army in Toulouse. There is an LMWST at the Airbus ITC in Sevilla, one at France’s national A400M training centre in Orléans, and another at the Royal Air Force National Training Centre in Brize Norton.
04 Dec 23. Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY has brought together C-17A Globemaster heavy lifters from the US, UK and Australia down under. Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY has brought together C-17A Globemaster aircraft from the US, UK and Australia for a series of air mobility training missions.
Held at RAAF Base Amberley from November 27 to December 8, the exercise continues to build close ties between RAAF’s 36 Squadron and the US Pacific Air Forces’ (PACAF) 535th Airlift Squadron, travelling from Hawaii. For the first time, Royal Air Force’s (RAF) 99 Squadron participated in the exercise from December 1. Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY is held twice a year and provides an opportunity for C-17A aircrew and technicians to build aviator-level relationships with foreign counterparts.
Commanding Officer 36 Squadron Wing Commander Scott Hyland said these relationships ensured RAAF aviators could support operations at short notice.
“The C-17A is well suited to delivering critical personnel and large amounts of cargo across the Indo-Pacific, but the people and our relationships are what allow us to do this quickly and effectively,” Wing Commander Hyland said.
“Through Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY, we’ve built a relationship with the US PACAF C-17A community that allows us to fly and fix each other’s aircraft as a blended workforce, greatly increasing our flexibility during operations.
“The value of these aircraft and their workforce is evident when we deploy together in the region, whether it be in support of peacekeeping operations, non-combatant evacuations, or to deliver a time-critical response to a natural disaster.”
C-17A Globemaster III aircraft of RAAF’s 36 Squadron and the US Air Force’s 15th Wing on the 36 Squadron flight line at RAAF Base Amberley for Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY [© ADoD: Cpl Kieren Whiteley]
The exercise this year involves low-level formation training around western Sydney, high-level air-to-air refuelling from RAAF KC-30As, and deployed operations to RAAF Bases Townsville and Scherger in northern Queensland.
“With the cooperation of the Papua New Guinea government, we will also conduct air mobility missions to PNG during Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY 23-2,” Wing Commander Hyland said.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to test our skills in PNG, which is one of the world’s most complex flying environments. The training we achieve during Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY ensures that we can deliver help anywhere in the Indo-Pacific.
“We welcome the UK’s debut in Exercise GLOBAL DEXTERITY, and believe it will yield great benefit to the wider Indo-Pacific community on future operations, and we thank the government and community of PNG for their support.” (Source: www.joint-forcescom)
08 Dec 23. MASA evolves SWORD simulation system. French firm MASA has continued to refine its widely used SWORD constructive simulation system and outlined the latest developments at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando. Enrico Raue, MASA business development director, told Janes that the company had to develop some more peripheral capabilities for SWORD, particularly for analysis. He said that the information extraction process had been completely reworked to permit more effective evaluation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as time, casualty levels, and ammunition expenditure were previously visible and available for analysis within SWORD. MASA has now developed a separate analytics module so that this information can be extracted and displayed on a new customisable web-based dashboard. Raue said that this enables the data to be fed into external applications such as the Exonaut exercise management and assessment software from 4C Strategies, which is a popular choice for the control of command post exercises. (Source: Janes)
08 Dec 23. Thales introduces enhancements to weapons training, tactical engagement simulators. Thales Training and Simulation unveiled new capabilities for its live and indoor training systems at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2023 in Orlando.
The main addition to the company’s Gladiator tactical engagement simulation system (TESS) is a laser-capable surrogate pistol, enabling those who have a handgun as a primary or secondary weapon to participate fully in live laser-based TESS training. The weapon is integrated into the Gladiator dismounted TESS harness.
Jan Uebersax, head of operational marketing for Thales Training and Simulation, told Janes that a key consideration was that the weapon had no additional attachments so that it can be holstered and used in a natural fashion. The solution integrates the instrumentation electronics, a battery, and a laser projector into an Airsoft pistol and it includes a compressed air-driven recoil simulator. (Source: Janes)
12 Dec 23. UK commits to enhanced training offer for UN peacekeepers.
Support for UN peacekeeping efforts pledged by Minister for the Armed Forces at United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial in Ghana.
- Support for UN peacekeeping efforts pledged by Minister for the Armed Forces at United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial in Ghana.
- Also holds bilateral security talks with government of Ghana.
- Signs Defence Cooperation Treaty with Senegal.
The UK will commit to an enhanced training offer for UN peacekeepers, the Minister for the Armed Forces announced last week at the 2023 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Rt Hon James Heappey MP, said: “From violent extremism in the Sahel, to political instability in a number of African states, the importance of working with our regional partners and the UN has rarely been clearer. It’s not enough for us to train peacekeepers and then let them put themselves in harm’s way with no support. Our new Enhanced Training Model will see our personnel accompany the UN’s peacekeepers on their missions, standing shoulder to shoulder with them on the ground as they work tirelessly to prevent conflict.”
Representing the UK at the conference, the minister outlined the UK’s new and continuing commitments to UN peacekeeping missions, including:
- A new Enhanced Training Model (ETM) for UN peacekeepers, which will see UK personnel assisting UN peacekeeping troops before and during missions, based on their requirements.
- Building on the £1m of funding announced earlier this year, a continued commitment for the Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations, which supports the participation of women in United Nations peace operations.
- Support for the UN’s counter misinformation and disinformation training efforts.
- A commitment to new training initiatives to build the counter-IED capability of others.
During his visit to Ghana, the minister also held a bilateral security dialogue with the Minister for National Security Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul and Minister for Interior Ambrose Dery. They discussed how to deepen our bilateral defence relationship, building on the deployment of HMS Trent to the Gulf of Guinea and work to counter the threat of violent extremist activity emanating from the Sahel.
He also met the Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Botchwey.
Visiting Burma Camp, the headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, the minister also oversaw the delivery of eight ambulances to Ghana. These ambulances, gifted by the UK, will allow Ghana to improve its medical outreach in the northern border regions.
Earlier in the week, he visited Senegal for bilateral talks with the Minister for Armed Forces Oumar Youm and President Macky Sall, where he signed a new Defence Cooperation Treaty. The agreement is the first between the UK and Senegal and marks a significant step forward in our defence and security partnership. The UK and Senegal will work together to deepen our relationship, to tackle organised crime and drugs trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea, and to counter regional instability and terrorism in the Sahel. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)