PARIS — France this week is leading a joint and allied course to train tactical transport crews from the French Air Force, Navy and European partner nations, in a bid to boost cooperation and interoperability.
The exercise, based at Orleans airbase, central France, focuses on training aircrews and support staff to work in an interoperable way, as "there is now no European military operation that can be done without tactical transport," Air Force Col. Christophe Piubeni, the course director, told journalists May 4.
Much effort will be made to make the training as realistic as possible, with the German Air Force flying over two Eurofighter Typhoons for the exercise, while France will deploy Rafale and Mirage fighters as well as the Alpha jet light trainer, he said.
Among those participating:
- France will fly an A400M and a Dutch crew will fly a C-130, with both making a first deployment on the training exercise..
- The French Air Force will also fly two CN235s.
- Germany has sent over a C-160
- A C-130 each will participate from Spain and the Netherlands.
- Berlin has also sent over observers from an A400M airbase.
- Spain has also sent over a KC-130 tanker.
- The French Navy will fly a Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft.
- Belgium has dispatched ground control crews.
The aim is "to improve knowledge and procedure," with the partner countries sending combat ready crews to work with allies in a foreign operation rather than just fly on a national basis, Piubeni said.
France will operate ground-based units to gather electronic intelligence and create electronic interference at the drop zones, to make for a more realistic exercise. Ground defense units will be armed with the SAMP/T and Crotale missiles, while the French Army will send some 100 paratroopers to train for civilian evacuation.
The exercise is financially supported by the European Defense Agency, which set up the European Tactical Airlift Program, with France acting as nation cadre for the training element.
France drew on air transport support from eight allies in the 2013 Serval operation in Mali, and the air force regularly flies freight missions to support forces in the Barkhane sub-Saharan African mission and in the Levant. Some of these missions require precise parachute drops rather than simply landing and unloading pallets from the cargo door.
