EDA News

For the last two weeks, Beja Airbase in Portugal has hosted the European Air Transport Training 2017 (EATT17), the annual tactical airlift training event, which has become an important feature of the Portuguese and several other European air force’s annual airlift training programmes. Some 600 military personnel from seven Member States (Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom), the European Air Transport Command (EATC) as well as observers from Brazil and Hungary participated in this sixth edition of EATT.

The tragic loss of life in northern Portugal as a result of wildfires was a sombre backdrop to this year’s training. Understandably, a large element of the exercise’s firefighting and heavy lift equipment was redeployed to the rescue effort at very short notice. Nevertheless, the training continued with eight aircraft (see below) and ten aircrews from seven nations and over 600 supporting personnel in the form of ground engineers, paratroopers, logistic teams and normal operational support personnel drawn from the air force, army and navies of the contribution nations, underlining the inherently joint nature of contemporary operations and training.

As in previous years, the focus of the second week has been on advanced tactical operations with the crews dropping tactical loads and paratroopers within an increasingly complex intelligence driven scenario.  The main effort is to operate the aircraft in packages of up to six  to form the mainstream of a Composite Air Operation (COMAO) mission with integrated fighter aircraft as protection.  The training has offered a very sharp reality check through the addition of surface-to-air threat emulators that illuminate the aircraft, testing their tactical ability and drawing lessons on the challenges of operating  in contested air environments.  The German A400M was a welcome new addition to this year’s event and was put through its paces by the exercise staff who are drawn from the EATC, the newly formed European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC), EDA and the multi-national Core Planning team from the contributing Member States.  The training also enjoyed a visit from observers from the Brazilian Air Force and a multi-disciplinary team from Hungary who is planning to run a future EATT from Papa airbase.  Despite the restrictions on airspace and equipment resulting from the operations to the north to counter the wildfires, the participating crews are unanimous in the need to run more multi-national events to improve interoperability and to share best practice in this critical operational domain.

EATT17 (as of 2018 to be renamed European Tactical Airlift Project Training, ETAP-T) is also an important milestone for EDA in that it marks the first practical handover of a training activity from the Agency to the ETAC following the formal transfer of responsibility that occurred on 8th June 2017 in Zaragoza.  HRVP Mogherini and the Spanish Defence Minister Mme de Cospedal opened the ETAC in a joint ceremony, which also included the symbolic handover of the ETAC banner from EDA’s Chief Executive Jorge Domecq to the newly appointed ETAC commander. EDA will continue to support the 20-nation European Air Transport Fleet (EATF) Programme in other areas of airlift such as harmonisation of diplomatic clearances and the development of user groups for specific aircraft operators. 

 

Assets: Germany (C-160 Transall and A400M Atlas), France (C-130H Hercules), the Netherlands (C-130H Hercules), Poland (C295), Portugal (C-130H Hercules), Romania (C-27J), and United Kingdom (C-130J Hercules). 

 

More information:

• Pictures of the event are available here.
• A video summary is available on YouTube.
• Project page European Air Transport Fleet (EATF)

The European Commission (DG GROW) and the European Defence Agency (EDA) today jointly organised a successful Infoday and Brokerage event to inform interested parties on the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) and the details of the calls for proposals published on 7 June.  The event was attended by more than 300 participants representing a wide variety of companies (including SMEs), research centres, universities, Ministries of Defence, European institutions, regional/local authorities and defence related organisations.

The gathering was opened by keynote speeches held by Philippe Brunet (Director for Space policy and Research, Copernicus and Defence within the European Commission’s Directorate General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, DG GROW) and Jorge Domecq, the European Defence Agency Chief Executive. 

In his speech, Mr Domecq said that “the tremendous interest in the Preparatory Action from industry across the continent is a testimony to the role industry and research organisations can and must play in delivering present and future European defence capabilities”. He added: “With this Preparatory Action, the Commission, supported by EDA, is making an important contribution to European defence that must provide European added value, focus on capability priorities at the European level and in areas where Member States can no longer afford to go alone, benefit all Member States, serve agreed capability priorities and provide incentives for more cooperation at European level, both among governments and industry”.

Commission Director Philippe Brunet said that “the Preparatory Action is an incentive for Member States and research actors to do better and more together” in view of strengthening the industrial and technological base of Europe’s defence industry. 

Participants received detailed presentations and participated in interactive information sessions on the first three PADR calls for proposals issued in June. The Brokerage event which took place in the afternoon provide participants with plenty of opportunities for networking with partners interested in forming consortia.

The PADR has the objective to test the added-value of the EU budget supporting defence research, in view of a potential EU programme in the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework. The PADR is being implemented by the EDA through a Delegation Agreement signed on 31 May between the EDA and the Commission.

 

More information: 

• Speech (full text) of Jorge Domecq
• Infoday Presentations & Conclusions
• PADR factsheet
• PADR project page
• PADR calls for proposals 

 

Thirty-five experts from 17 Member States as well as representatives from the EU Military Committee, the EU Military Staff, the EU Commission and NATO Allied Command Transformation participate in the European Defence Agency’s Table Top Exercise (TTX) on long term capability trends, starting today. Results of the exercise will feed into the revised Capability Development Plan (CDP) which will be presented to Ministers of Defence in the first semester of 2018.

The three day long exercise is part of the CDP revision and addresses the review of the current Long Term Trend Capability Assessment, with a perspective on 2035 and beyond. It comprises in-depth analysis and assessment of all military tasks, identifying the evolution of key military requirements, the key trends towards 2035 and beyond, the future importance of the different tasks, as well as related risks and challenges.

“Similar to previous table top exercises, we evaluate capability trends by using threat scenarios. Only this time, the elaboration of these scenarios was more complex as we are looking at trends in 2035 and beyond. We thus worked closely together with military R&T experts to elaborate scenarios including technology available in about 20 years. The aim is to derive future military capability development trends in a European setting”, says Roland Van Reybroeck, Cooperation Planning & Support Director at EDA.

The TTX will address the full scope of military tasks in view of answering the question “which capabilities will Member States’ armed forces need in 2035 and beyond?” An important aspect thereby is to analyse in detail the capability implications in different scenarios.

“If we take for example global warming and the melting of ice caps, apart from ecological and economic consequences, the military would need to look at its long term capability needs to face new geopolitical scenarios potentially resulting from climate change. In this context, military long term capability planners would for example examine related requirements for the next generation of frigates”, explains Lars-Ove Roos, Project Officer at EDA.

The key findings from this exercise, will underpin the long term dimension to the Capability Development Plan. The post-TTX analysis and assessment is to be completed by December 2017. 

 

More information:

• Factsheet Capability Development Plan
• Project page Capability Development Plan

TACTICS (Tactical Service Oriented Architecture), an R&T project launched in 2014 by Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Poland through the European Defence Agency (EDA) and carried out by a consortium of 9 contracting partners and 2 sub-contractors* with the aim to define a Tactical Service Infrastructure (TSI) enabling military tactical radio networks to participate to Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), was brought to a successful closure at a final meeting of the TACTICS working group at the EDA premises on the 8 of June. 

Military systems, communications and information infrastructures are increasingly becoming service-oriented, both on a national level and in the context of international collaboration. However, while research on Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) in classical business environments has produced satisfactory and well-established solutions, this is not the case for mobile/tactical environments in which operators have to deal with much more complex challenges (such as the limitations of disruptive and throughput-constrained networks, aggravated by limited end user devices) for which existing SOA technologies are not an answer. 

EDA’s TACTICS project was thus launched in February 2014 to: propose measures to mitigate the constraints of military tactical environments so that they can also benefit from SOA; and to formally describe a Tactical Service Infrastructure (TSI) in a reference architecture following the NATO Architecture Framework (NAF).

 

Results 

At the beginning of the project, military constraints, operational requirements and expected SOA benefits were collected and defined with the help of national military experts. On this basis, a reference architecture for a Tactical Service Infrastructure (TSI) was designed in such a way that it can cope with the constraints. 

By performing a number of technology studies in dedicated fields of research, it was ensured that the TSI reference architecture encompasses up-to-date and also novel research results reaching from security policy management, traffic engineering, quality of service provision and interoperability mechanisms for semantic service registries. 

The resulting TSI reference architecture describes how a future SOA-based middleware could be established and what mechanisms the middleware can take advantage of, to support user-facing services’ realisation in a tactical constrained environment.
Multinational live demonstration

The findings were shown in a multinational live demonstration. The demonstration, carried out on the 11/12 April 2017 in Ditzingen (Germany), incorporated national tactical radios (UHF and VHF) and an emulated long-range satellite connection. Based on this, the Consortium presented selected SOA benefits and technical innovations in the researched areas using a proof-of-concept implementation of the TSI and exemplary user-facing services. 

*The consortium is composed of the following companies/institutions: Thales Deutschland (Consortium Coordinator), Fraunhofer FKIE, Germany (Technical Coordinator), Patria Aviation Oy (Finland), Thales Communications & Security (France), Leonardo (Italy), Thales Starmille (Italy), University of L’Aquila (Italy), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway), ITTI (Poland), Military Communication Institute (Poland), Military University of Technology (Poland).

 

More information

• Official project’s web site 

 

Military forces and airborne assets participating in EU-led military operations are highly likely to encounter adversaries armed with Surface-to-Air Fire (SAFIRE) weapons to interfere with, and potentially jeopardise, air operations. A recent EDA study developed a strategy on Counter SAFIRE (C-SAFIRE) with the aim to maximise air assets’ availability, survivability and freedom of manoeuvre in theatre of operations. 

Counter- Surface-to-Air Fire (C-SAFIRE) capability is required on EU-led military operations in order to prevent the threat or use of SAFIRE being a risk to mission success, excessively constraining air assets’ (fixed wing and rotary) freedom of action, or imposing avoidable costs or casualties. The C-SAFIRE study supports an EU approach to facilitate Member States’ participation in EU-led military operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), while supporting mission effectiveness and operational risk management for participating air assets. The study states the  C-SAFIRE capabilities required for participation in EU-led military operations and addresses how air platforms with different capabilities can be employed.

Through the study, a technical, organisational and procedural guide on C-SAFIRE in EU led military operations was produced. The study also presented a common understanding of measures to be taken at national level to facilitate the development of an integrated approach in the assessment and development of Member States’ C-SAFIRE capabilities, training included. 

The project was funded by the EDA and carried out by a contractor. The study design and implementation was coordinated by the Project Team C-SAFIRE,  that bring together experts from the Member States. 

Copyright picture: Airbus Defence & Space

More information

• Public Executive Summary - Study to Inform Strategy on Counter-Surface-to-Air Fire (C-SAFIRE) in EU-Led Military Operations

 

As a follow-up to the Commission’s European Defence Action Plan acknowledging that European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) may be used by Member States in the defence sector, the European Defence Agency publishes the “EDA’s ESIF web-platform” to provide any potential defence-related stakeholder (including MoDs, industry, research-and-technology organisations, academia, clusters) both with:

• an interactive analytical mapping on ‘sources’ of regional, national, and transnational calls for proposals under Structural Funds and
• respective contact details of the hundreds ESIF managing authorities ultimately in charge for funding allocation.

For the financial framework running till 2020, ESIF are made up of 5 specific funds totaling more than 450 billion euros, matched nationally by additional 180 billion euros. In the defence sector, ESIF may co-fund productive investment projects, and support the modernisation of the defence supply chains.

EDA’s work supporting access to ESIF is focused on the two main funds (together commonly referred as “Structural Funds”):

• the European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF) and its “Interreg” share, which can support - inter alia - defence activities and dual-use activities in research and innovation at regional, national and transnational/cooperative level; 
• the European Social Fund (ESF), which can support the development and enhancement of key skills and competencies (KSC) for defence.

With regard to the ERDF, EDA has been technically assisting successfully funded pilot R&T project applications. Concerning ESF for KSC, an EDA’s procedure aimed at supporting free-of-charge the application to the ESF for selected pilot KSC-related projects  is currently underway through Ministries of Defence.

The ESIF web-platform complements the successful  EDA’s “COSME web-platform” launched one year ago to facilitate access to finance, grants and free-of-charge advisory services for defence-related SMEs and clusters. For further details: esif@eda.europa.eu or cosme@eda.europa.eu 

 

More information:

• The EDA’s ESIF platform is available at www.eda.europa.eu/esif
• The EDA’s “COSME platform” is available at www.eda.europa.eu/cosme.
• An overview of main EU funding programmes is available at www.eda.europa/eufunding
• EDA’s work on Access to EU funding.  

 

Today marks the start of the sixth European Air Transport Training (EATT2017). Hosted by Portugal, several hundred military personnel from Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom will train from June 19 to 30 at Air Base 11 (AB11) in Beja. This multinational exercise was initiated within the framework of the European Air Transport Fleet Programme of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and will be executed by the newly founded European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) and supported by the European Air Transport Command (EATC). 

The overall objective of this exercise is to achieve a high level of interoperability among air transport capable EDA Member States by exposing their crews to a complex operational environment, in which to practice their procedures and tactics and to gain  the necessary qualifications to perform tactical operations in current theatres of conflict and humanitarian relief.

EATT2017 is set up to give the participating aircrews a variety of training, from basic tactical elements like practicing assault landings and air drop procedures to complex multi-ship combat mission profiles. The planning and execution is assisted by mentors, ensuring proper application of the common tactical guidelines. In parallel, training of Combined Air Terminal Operation (CATO) personnel is taking place on the ground, dealing with cargo preparation, loading of aircraft, and administrative procedures. 

Around 100 paratroopers from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal will be deployed daily by mission aircraft. From the multi-organisational staff to the multi-national contingents, EATT2017 focuses on the overarching goal of increasing the interoperability of European airlift assets through training based on agreed common procedures. With already over 100 crews having received European tactical airlift training and over 2,000 hours flown in the past five years, EATT2017 follows in this spirit, and is a tangible example of improving Europe’s military airlift provision for a strong European defence.

Assets and staff from seven Member States participate in EATT2017: Germany (C-160 Transall and A400M Atlas), France (C-130H Hercules), the Netherlands (C-130H Hercules), Poland (C295), Portugal (C-130H Hercules), Romania (C-27J), and United Kingdom (C-130J Hercules). 

 

More information:

• EATF project page
• EATT2017 Factsheet

On June 15th the EDA Steering Board accepted, by written procedure, the Outline Description for the Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) Pooling and Sharing demonstration project (GSC demo). Under the leadership of Spain, the project brings together Austria, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Greece, France, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Norway, which has signed an Administrative Arrangement with the Agency, is also participating in the project. The next step will be the establishment of a Project Arrangement.

The project originates from an EDA Steering Board decision of November 2013 which tasked EDA to pursue its work on GOVSATCOM coordination with Member States, the European Commission and the European Space Agency in order to propose a comprehensive programme for Member States who wish to participate. Subsequently, the task to prepare the next generation of GOVSATCOM was confirmed by the European Council in December 2013 and work on GOVSATCOM has also started at the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission.

The main objective of the project is to meet the GOVSATCOM demands of Member States and European CSDP actors through pooled capabilities (bandwidth/power and/or services) provided by contributing Member States. This governmental pooled capability is set up to provide SATCOM resources that cannot be obtained on the commercial market  with a sufficient level of guaranteed access and security. 

The Steering Board acceptance marks the end of the GOVSATCOM preparation phase where EDA employed a sequential approach in developing this project, analysing since 2014 satellite communication needs for European actors involved in the conduct of national or CSDP operations and detailing potential solutions to address the capability development.  

The work in EDA has been supported by a feasibility study since mid-2015. This study identified the GOVSATCOM Information Exchange Requirements and provided a forecast tool assessing both defense satellite connectivity requirements in support of European CSDP activities and national operations of EU Member States, as well as civil government requirements for European government stakeholders. The focus was on communications requiring guarantee of access, security and autonomy that go beyond standard commercial satellite solutions, without requiring the highest level of security that only military satellite systems can provide. 
The next step then was to carry out a detailed assessment of existing and planned commercial and governmental satellite systems and their suitability to meet the aforementioned requirements.

The study relied on a variety of sources and analytical processes, including the use of an external study conducted for the European Commission on civil government requirements and studies conducted for ESA to define new satellite systems to fill gaps identified in the assessment part of the EDA GOVSATCOM feasibility study.
In parallel with the study, EDA’s SATCOM project team developed the GOVSATCOM Common Staff Requirements and an associated Business Case. Both documents have been approved by the Steering Board in March 2017. 

The Business Case closely follows a recommendation of the study for EDA to explore a Pooling and Sharing demonstration as part of the European GOVSATCOM initiative. The project will be put in place progressively with due consideration given to the impact it might have on suppliers, users and alternative frameworks. The Pooling and Sharing demonstration will require close cooperation, not only  between the Member States which contribute to the SATCOM capability pool and those who use it but also with the other GOVSATCOM activities pursued in ESA and the Commission.

The Ad-Hoc Working Group of the GSC demo project, consisting of all 14 Member States and Norway, will now establish the Project Arrangement detailing the legal conditions for the project.
 

Background

Reliable, stable and secure communications are crucial in any CSDP mission or operation. Yet, terrestrial network infrastructures are not available everywhere, for instance in areas hit by natural disasters, at sea, in the air or in hostile zones. Satellite communications (SATCOM) can be the solution: rapidly deployable, flexible and distance insensitive, they offer communication links where terrestrial networks are damaged, overloaded or non-existent.

However, access to SATCOM cannot be taken for granted at any time, especially not when government users require them at short notice and without pre-arranged agreements. In situations of high demand, competition with other users of commercial SATCOM capacities creates a risk of non-availability and high costs. Against this backdrop, EU leaders decided in 2013 that there was a need for a new solution combining the advantages of commercial and military satellite systems in order to address both civil and military needs through European cooperation. The European Defence Agency, in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Space Agency, is now preparing the next generation of GOVSATCOM. 

GOVSATCOM will be a capability that is placed in between the commercial satellite communication market and the highly protected military satellite communication capability.

 

More information:

• EDA factsheet GOVSATCOM
• EDA project page GOVSATCOM
• Video: GOVSATCOM - SATCOM for security and defence 

 

The fourth in a series of five meetings of the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector (CF SEDSS) was held in Lisbon on 16 – 18 May 2017. 

The conference was opened by General Henrique Castanheira Macedo – Deputy Director General from the Portuguese Ministry of Defence, Mrs Claudia Canaveri – Deputy Head of Energy Efficiency at DG Energy, and Mr Rini Goos – Deputy Chief Executive at the European Defence Agency. It was closed by Mr Denis Roger – Director European Synergies and Innovation at the European Defence Agency. 

“Whatever we do on international defence cooperation and collaboration, it must ultimately be about maintaining our strategic defence objectives, and developing and delivering enhanced military capability, increasing readiness and effectiveness,” EDA Deputy Chief Executive Rini Goos said during his opening address. “We need to ensure that our infrastructure – the backbone of the military – is future-proofed and efficient in its operation so that we can support ultimately, the front line. This is why the Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector is so important – it provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to work together to make a real change in the provision of defence capability and one which can have an enduring legacy, setting a benchmark for the rest of the defence sector.”

Maintaining the momentum of the first, second and third events held in Brussels, Dublin, and Rome in 2016, the third conference was attended by around 100 experts from government administrations representing the majority of EDA Member States, as well as industry, academia, NATO representatives and the European Commission.

In closing the conference, Director European Synergies and Innovation Denis Roger set out, “At this event, it has been useful to take stock of what we have learnt so far to ensure that we keep a focus on defence outputs.  We must also not lose sight of where the challenges and opportunities lie; and to start to develop thoughts on how to move forward, but in a way which supports capability development objectives”. Encouraging a sense of urgency, Mr Roger concluded, “We need to become more implementation focused in future, finding solutions to overcoming barriers.  We need to start developing and agreeing plans for action, and we need to do it now.”

 

Background 

The Consultation Forum for Sustainable Energy in the Defence and Security Sector is a European Commission initiative managed by the European Defence Agency. It brings together experts from the defence and energy sectors to share information and best practice on improving energy management, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy. The Consultation Forum takes place in a series of five plenary meetings over 24 months, concluding in October 2017.

The work is carried out in three parallel working groups each with a particular focus: (1) Energy Management, (2) Energy Efficiency & 3) Renewable Energy. 

The latest European Defence Matters magazine is now available with a special focus on the EU’s Space Strategy and its implications, opportunities and challenges for Defence. 

NEW: the magazine is now also available ONLINE in a user-friendly, state of the art responsive lay-out and accessible via all your devices: smartphone, tablet or desktop!  Check it out HERE

Space-based civilian services have become indispensable in everyone's daily lives. Think of satellite TV, mobile phones, navigation systems in cars or taking the plane.  But Europe’s space policy is also gaining prominence in the context of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP): space-based communication, situational awareness, and navigation and earth-observation capabilities play an increasingly critical role in security and defence. 

Against this backdrop, the new Space Strategy for Europe takes on a wider, much more significant meaning. For the first time ever, the EU identifies space as a ‘strategic asset’ for strengthening European security & defence and even a core element in achieving Europe’s objective of ‘strategic autonomy’.

Reason enough to make of ‘Space & Defence’ the main dossier for this 13th edition of European Defence Matters.  We analyse the Space Strategy’s defence-related aspects and repercussions, especially in connection with the Commission’s European Defence Action Plan (EDAP), and give the floor to the main actors in this field: European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European External Action Service’s (EEAS) special envoy for space François Rivasseau, EU Satellite Centre (SatCen) director Pascal Legai, European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Woerner as well as European Defence Agency (EDA) Chief Executive Jorge Domecq. To hear the European space industry’s views, we speak to Jean-Loïc Galle who is not only CEO of Thales Alenia Space but also President of ASD-Eurospace.

Frank Haun, the President & CEO of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Co-CEO of KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS), is our guest for this edition’s ‘Industry Talk’ in which he makes a plea for consolidation and streamlining to strengthen Europe’s defence industry. 

In the same vein, the head of McKinsey & Company’s activities in the defence sector in EMEA,  Wolff van Sintern, tells us in a very interesting interview how important it is for Europe to overcome the current fragmentation of its defence market, to boost cooperation and to achieve greater integration based on standardized requirements and equipment.

The analysis by Daniel Fiott (Security & Defence editor at the EU Institute for Security Studies) of the EU’s defence policy 60 years after the Treaty of Rome is another highlight.

Go ONLINE and get MORE!

A final word on the new ONLINE format of European Defence Matters which will make your reading experience even more comfortable:

• in addition to the print version, the online version occasionally offers expanded articles and supplementary pictures
• articles and pictures can be shared instantly via Twitter, LinkedIn and Email
• the magazine’s ‘Explore’ section allows you to easily access the European Defence Matters archive and revisit articles of previous editions
• by joining us via www.eda.europa.eu/webzine, you will have access to the latest issue and the possibility to navigate through the previous editions by using the ‘Explore’ function.

Enjoy navigating, enjoy reading!
 

More information:

• European Defence Matters 13 (webzine)

After a final test run successfully conducted last week, the second Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) recently delivered to the permanent JDEAL training facility in Soesterberg (The Netherands) has now reached its full operational capability (FOC).

This means that with two deployable capabilities available for participating Member States, EDA’s JDEAL project - which will be extended until 2021 - has now met its primary level of objective. Both deployable laboratories, considered to be key tools for improving the fight against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), are thus now ready for deployment upon requests by Member States.

The new second laboratory is fully based on mission essential equipment and comes with a lighter housing version than the first one.

Awaiting future deployments, both laboratories will be displayed during the next technical exploitation at the JDEAL Training Facilities in Soesterberg on 5/6 September 2017.

 

More information:

• EDA programme launched to improve IED Detection (webnews January 2017)
• Counter-IED (EDA project page)
  
  

The 11th edition of the Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course (JPRSC), a project initiated and supported by the European Defence Agency (EDA), was organised and hosted by the Hungarian Defence Forces from 22 May to 2 June in Veszprém, Hungary.

A total of 15 students from five contributing countries (The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Norway, and Hungary) benefitted from the knowledge and experience of a cadre of instructors from Sweden, Germany, Hungary and the European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC).

The main focus of the course was to train staff officers in supporting their commanders in Personnel Recovery related issues. The course was designed for personnel who man personnel recovery positions in tactical operation centres (TOCs), personnel recovery coordination cells (PRCCs) or joint personnel recovery cells (JPRCs). The overall objective of the Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course is to ensure that trained personnel are available to support any future Personnel Recovery activities in an operational context.

Personnel Recovery is a vital element of modern operational planning as it provides a security net for deployed personnel. Most importantly, it boosts morale and acknowledges the responsibility of Member States and the European Union to develop and provide relevant capabilities to recover and reintegrate isolated personnel deployed in the context of Crisis Management Operations under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The next EU JPRSC will take place in the Italian Joint Air Operations School in Guidonia (Rome) from 13 to 22 September 2017 and will be organised by the Italian Ministry of Defence.
 

Background

The EDA PRCPC project was established on 30 May 2013 as an EDA Category B project under the lead of Sweden. As of today, it includes seven contributing EU Member States (cMS): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden. The course has been extended three times and will be finalised on 30 May 2019. The JPRSC is part of the EDA’s Personnel Recovery Controller and Planner Course (PRCPC).

Head of the EDA, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, and Minister of Defence of Spain, Dolores de Cospedal, today officially opened the European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) in Zaragoza. The opening of ETAC marks a significant step forward in European defence cooperation and joint collaboration with the establishment of a permanent operational base for advanced tactical airlift training.

Today (June 8) Zaragoza officially became the home of the European Air Transport Fleet (EATF) Training Programme in a ceremony marking the transfer of this project from the EDA to Spain. The newly created European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) will serve as the permanent home for this project. Created by EDA in 2011, and signed by 20 participating nations, the EATF partnership aims to increase the EU’s airlift capabilities by addressing shortages and increasing interoperability. A flag handover ceremony between EDA Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq, and the ETAC Commander, Colonel Jose Luis Romero, marked the official project transfer of EATF training activities from the EDA to ETAC.

 
ETAC: Transfer from EDA to a permanent host nation

The opening of the ETAC represents the largest transfer of a project, created and developed by the EDA, to one of its Member States on a permanent basis. Speaking about what this transfer means, EDA Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq, said:

“This is significant moment for European defence cooperation and the EDA. This new centre is the culmination of 6 years of development in the EDA, I am proud that this project has reached maturity and will be transferred to the leadership of Spain as a new and permanent host nation. ETAC demonstrates exactly how the EDA enables positive defence collaboration and delivers real capability improvement for our Member States.”
 

Federica Mogherini (Head of the EDA, EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission), Dolores de Cospedal (Minister of Defence of Spain)

 
ETAC: The new home of European tactical airlift  

The establishment of a permanent multinational airlift training centre (ETAC) marks a major step forward in European defence collaboration in the critical capability domain of tactical airlift. 11 nations are the owners of this agreement (BE, BG, CZ, DE, ES, FR, IT, LU, NL, PT and NO) and they will share the burden to plan, organize and execute Advanced Airlift Courses, Training and Symposia in different locations (France, Italy, Bulgaria, Portugal & Sweden) by using a permanent lean command and control structure based at Zaragoza. ETAC will be manned by experts from the different participating nations on a rotational basis. The first composition will be made up from Spanish, Italian, German and French officers, who will be replaced within 3 to 4 years with staff from the remaining signatory nations. 
 

Federica Mogherini

 
EAATTC 17-3: 11th training course successfully concludes

In parallel to the ETAC opening, the graduating crews of the third European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course for 2017 (EAATTC 17-3) were also presented with certificates by members of the visiting delegation. Four crews, representing three Member States (Germany: C160; Poland C130 and Spain: C295 and C130) received their certificates following the completion of the two-week training course. Over 120 personnel were involved including support personnel from Italy, Belgium, the European Air Transport Command (EATC) and JAPCC.

The training provided air transport crews with a focused airlift tactics training syllabus specifically designed to enhance interoperability between European air forces. Nine missions were executed, including very low level tactical flights, fighter engagement and evasive maneuvers from ground-to-air threats all trying to stop the air drops of critical cargo and paratroopers.  Each crew flew an average of 20 hours in a particularly demanding environment and completed several successful tactical flights to successfully graduate from the course. 
 

Jorge Domecq (EDA Chief Executive), Federica Mogherini, Dolores de Cospedal

 
3D-Printing in defence: Successful test deployment of AM facility  

EDA’s ground-breaking project, “Additive Manufacturing Feasibility Study & Technology Demonstration”, successfully deployed a 3D-printing lab to Zaragoza for the duration of EAATTC 17-3. The project aims to assess the areas where Additive Manufacturing (3D-printing) can have a positive impact on defence capabilities and to demonstrate the feasibility of on-site critical component manufacture.

On May 31st, the lab was loaded on a Spanish C-130 and successfully completed a 30 minute flight. This test was pivotal to examining the feasibility of the facility to be deployed by air. After landing, the lab and its equipment was inspected and found to have encountered no issues from the airlift. 

During the deployment, the AM lab generated a lot of interest from the multinational units involved in EAATTC 17-3. Lab technicians worked closely with EAATTC 17-3 officials in the design and production of different test parts. Through these interactions, the technicians were able to gather ideas to print parts on-site and on-demand. The deployment also underscored the strong interest and potential of AM technologies across all military branches (pilots, maintenance, technicians and logistic support), who were keen to learn how 3D-printing could benefit their area of expertise. 

The deployment has been successful in terms of showcasing the technologies and raising awareness of their operational application. Furthermore, the lessons learned from the deployment and test flight of the AM lab will also contribute to shaping the design and requirement of future 3D-printing facilities. 

The results of this feasibility demonstration will be presented in September, as part of an exhibition (Exploring Additive Manufacturing impact in Defence capabilities) to high-ranking military staff, to raise awareness on the possible impact of AM in defence.
 

More information: 

• EDA Fact sheet on EAATTC 17-3
• EDA Fact sheet on 3D-printing
   

The European Defence Agency (EDA) today published the three 2017 calls for proposals for the EU’s Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR). Details about the calls and participation conditions can be found here.  More information will also be available at a special PADR Information Day and Brockerage event which will be organized by the EDA on 27 June. 

The three calls cover the following domains:

• A technological demonstrator for enhanced situational awareness in a naval environment that shows the added value of unmanned systems in enhancing situational awareness while operating alongside and communicating with other manned and unmanned systems. The deadline for submitting proposals is 5 October 2017;
• Research in technology and products in the context of Force Protection and Soldier Systems. This topic focuses on future generic open soldier system reference architecture and can include technology advancements in tailor-made blast, ballistic and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) protection of military personnel as well as novel developments in active and passive military camouflage methods. The deadline for submitting proposals is 21 September 2017;
• Strategic technology foresight. Proposals will need to develop and validate a methodology and/or process to gather data for foresight activities to prepare, among others, the long-term agenda for defence research in the EU.  The deadline for submitting proposals is 21 September 2017.

 

Background 

The Preparatory Action on Defence Research, which is implemented by the European Defence Agency (EDA) through a Delegation Agreement signed on 31 May, is the first step towards a future European defence research programme (EDRP) as part of the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027).

The budget for the PADR related actions in 2017 is €25 million. The Preparatory Action will be financed mainly through grants.

 

More information: 

• Calls for proposals (Commission Research & Innovation Participant Portal)
• EDA PADR Info Day and Brockerage event on 27 June
• Preparatory Action on Defence Research (EDA project page)
• EDA Factsheet: Preparatory Action on Defence Research
• ‘Decision on the financing of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) and the use of unit costs for the year 2017’ (full text)
• EDA grants page
• Call for experts to assist the EDA with tasks in connection with the PADR

An Estonian research project on the technical aspects and threat vectors of cyber hygiene has been awarded co-funding (70%) under the main ESIF: the European Regional and Development Fund (ERDF).

This 300,000 Euro applied research project is the first stage of a wider 3 million Euro project. The Estonian project holder, the Small-and-Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) CYBEXER TECHNOLOGIES OÜ, is a Tallinn-based joint company that will also provide the required ‘match funding’ (i.e. 30% of the total project). The TALLINN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, at the origin of the project idea, will also benefit from the ERDF co-funding.

Following EDA’s procedure in 2015 requesting Member States’ Ministries of Defence to identify and propose promising dual-use R&T projects, this Estonian project was selected by EDA to benefit from EDA free-of-charge technical assistance aimed at maximising its chance to access ESIF. As usual, flexibility has been key to success: under EDA’s free-of-charge technical support, the original project has undergone decisive adaptations. Like in the previous pilot case awarded in Portugal  in 2016, EDA’s methodology addressing ERDF within the current multiannual financial framework running till 2020 has again proved to be successful.

Above mentioned Estonian and Portuguese successful cases add to earlier two EDA-supported dual-use R&T projects, another Portuguese and a Polish, both co-funded too, under a first EDA support process launched in 2013.

EDA has also recently launched a similar assistance process focusing on access to the second main fund among ESIF, the European Social Fund (ESF), in support of key skills and competencies for defence (KSC). Under this procedure [“ESF4KSC”], MoDs may forward to EDA (by the 18th of September 2017) KSC-related projects collected nationally from stakeholders.

More information

• EDA’s work on Access to EU funding
• EDA’s summary table on EU funding opportunities for defence-related stakeholders
• EDA’s work in support of Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises
     

 

In a major step forward for EDA’s innovative Additive Manufacturing (AM or 3D-printing) in defence project, the AM lab completed a successful test flight on-board a Spanish C-130, fulfilling all airlift requirements for a military deployment and civilian transport. The test flight,  part of the simulated deployment the 3D-printing facility is currently undergoing at the European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course (EAATTC 17-3) in Zaragoza, was pivotal to examining its feasibility to be deployed by air.

EDA’s ground-breaking project, “Additive Manufacturing Feasibility Study & Technology Demonstration”, aims to assess the areas where Additive Manufacturing (AM) (3D-printing)  can have a positive impact on defence capabilities and to demonstrate its feasibility. The second work strand of this project is currently underway in Zaragoza as part of EDA’s airlift training course - EAATTC 17-3. In the morning of May 31st, the lab was loaded on-board a Spanish C-130 and completed a successful 30 minute flight. This test was pivotal to examining the feasibility of the facility to be deployed by air. After landing, the lab and its equipment was inspected and found to have encountered no issues from the airlift. 

The lab has now been transferred to its final location in Zaragoza airbase where it will begin producing test parts. Over the next week, technicians will interact with the officials deployed at EAATTC 17-3, presenting the possibilities offered by the equipment, and identifying in close dialogue what are the main needs in an operation that could be fulfilled by an AM facility. Together, the technicians and the officials will select a number of different test parts to be produced on site and on demand, with different grades of complexity. 

The project represents a clear example of how cross-fertilization of ideas from different domains, from R&T to operations, will enhance defence capabilities, especially when supporting deployed missions. The overall study has the objective of raising awareness in the defence community and of promoting a better understanding of the potential held by these technologies, thereby stimulating their implementation in defence specific areas. 
 

AM Facility on display at ETAC opening

On June 8 the new European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) will be officially opened by Head of the EDA, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini and Minister of Defence of Spain Dolores de Cospedal. ETAC represents the largest transfer of a project, created and developed by the EDA, to one of its Member States on a permanent basis.

AM technicians will be on hand to explain the project to visiting officials, who will also visit the AM lab,  and demonstrate some of the items produced during its test deployment. EDA will be live from Zaragoza on June 8th for this event, join us on twitter (@EUdefenceagency) using #EUdefence.  
 

Future steps: Additive Manufacturing Exhibition

An EDA Exhibition “Exploring Additive Manufacturing impact in Defence capabilities” will be held in Gijón (ES) on 12 September 2017.  The aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness among the defence community and, specifically, to high level military staff, on the capabilities that additive manufacturing technologies can bring to the defence sector and its potential for different applications. Examples on how the technology could change the way operations, logistic support or maintenance are performed, will be explained and showcased.

Moreover, attendees will have access to an exhibition during the event, where EDA AM facility (deployed at EAATTC 17-3), equipment, prototypes and real parts produced by AM will be shown. Finally, the conclusions of this EDA project, including the equipment used and typical objects and materials produced during the deployment of the AM facility will be presented, allowing participants to discuss about possible follow on activities.
 

More information:

• Zaragoza to permanently host the European Tactical Airlift Center from June
• Contractor’s questionnaire on Additive Manufacturing impact on Defence
• EDA letter - support to Additive Manufacturing feasibility study & technology demonstration
• EDA news on the AM kick-off meeting (December 2016)
• EDA consultation to identify impact of 3D-printing technologies in defence 
• EAATTC 17-3 Fact sheet 

The European Commission Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Lowri Evans, and the Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency (EDA), Jorge Domecq, today signed a Delegation Agreement by which the Commission entrusts the EDA with the management of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) to be launched in early June. The signing was attended by Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Deputy Director General Pierre Delsaux (DG GROW) as well as Jean-Eric Paquet, the Commission's Deputy Secretary-General.

The aim of the Preparatory Action, which is the first substantial EU funded action for defence research, is to demonstrate the added-value of EU-funded research in the defence sector. Running over a three-year period (2017-2019), the PADR will be a genuine test-bed for proving the relevance of European defence research and laying the foundations for a fully-fledged EU defence R&D programme in the Multi-annual Financial Framework beginning in 2021. It is a central element of the ‘Research Window’ of the European Defence Fund proposed by the Commission last November.

The PADR will provide European added value as the research projects will focus on capability priorities at European level, notably through the Capability Development Plan (CDP), and on areas where Member States can no longer afford to act alone. Thereby, it will also create new incentives for cooperation both among governments and industry.

At the signing ceremony, Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska stated: “The Commission is ready to play its role to the full and to even put EU funds and legal frameworks to support defence research and defence capabilities. This is potentially a game changer. However, to achieve this we need the expertise of the EDA. Together we can make a real difference. This partnership will continue to be important as we build the Defence Fund with the implementation of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme”.

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq thanked the Commission for making the Delegation Agreement possible and said the EDA was looking forward to a good and fruitful implementation. He stated: “Our work in carrying forward the Preparatory Action will be in line with EDA’s role as central operator for EU funded defence related activities as well as the preferred cooperation forum and management support structure at EU level for participating Member States to engage in technology and capability development activities, highlighted at EDA’s last Ministerial Steering Board. I am proud we have successfully achieved this agreement which lays the basis for a sound and fruitful cooperation between the Commission and EDA for the years to come. It is a balanced Delegation Agreement in which the Commission and EDA will be genuine partners. The Preparatory Action on Defence Research will be the test bed for the coming European Defence Research Programme”.

 

Foundations laid by successful Pilot Project

The foundations for the Preparatory Action were laid last year with the successful launch of a much smaller ‘Pilot Project on Defence Research’ which is also managed by the EDA on the basis of a Delegation Agreement signed in November 2015. The Pilot Project was a first opportunity for the EDA to demonstrate its ability to manage EU funding for defence research.

Mr Domecq stressed that the Agency was now ready and well prepared to run the much bigger PADR with its €90 million budget of which €25 million are earmarked for 2017.

The EDA played an important ‘upstream role’ in setting up the Preparatory Action and will also have a crucial ‘downstream’ task to fulfil, as a hub for the exploitation of the outcome of the different R&T projects under the PADR.

 

Next steps

Now that the Delegation Agreement is signed, the EDA will immediately proceed with its implementation. The first step will be the launch, on 7 June, of the 2017 calls for proposals. An Information Day is then scheduled for 27 June in order to inform entities from industry and the research community (including universities) about the opportunities and modalities of the Preparatory Action. Proposals can be submitted by the autumn and the signature of the first grant agreements is envisaged by the end of this year. Calls for 2018 proposals are expected to be launched early next year.

 

More information:

• EDA factsheet on PADR
• Practical details on 27 June Information Day
• Preparatory Action on Defence Research: Commission adopts financial decision with project détails (EDA webnews, April 2017)
  
  

The third European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course for 2017 (EAATTC 17-3), hosted by the Spanish Airforce at Zaragoza airbase runs from 28 May to 9 June 2017. Initiated under the EDA Cat A European Air transport fleet Programme and run together with the European Air Transport Command (EATC), the course has reached its maturity and is on the verge of being moved to a permanent organisation in charge of planning and executing courses. This edition of EAATTC will represent the beginning of the transition phase of responsibilities between EDA and European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC).  

This edition of EAATTC gathers five aircraft from four different countries (Belgium: C130; Germany: C160; Poland C130 and Spain: C295 and C130) and support personnel coming from Italy, the European Air Transport Command (EATC) as well as JAPCC. The training aims to provide air transport crews with a robust airlift tactics training syllabus in order to enhance interoperability between European air forces. 

The course is dedicated to single-ship flying missions which, as the training goes on, will evolve from an initial low level tactical scenario to a more complex air-to-air and ground-to-air threats environment. Nine flights are planned for the single ship course. At the end of the course, crews will receive a Graduation Certificate based on the completion of the syllabus objectives by June 8. 
 

European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) 

On June 8 the new European Tactical Airlift Centre (ETAC) will be officially opened by Head of the EDA, High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini and Minister of Defence of Spain Dolores de Cospedal. ETAC represents the largest transfer of a project, created and developed by the EDA, to one of its Member States on a permanent basis. 

Zaragoza will officially become the home of the European Air Transport Fleet (EAFT) Programme on June 8th in a ceremony marking the transfer of this project from the EDA to Spain. Created in 2011 by EDA, and signed by 20 participating nations, the EATF partnership aims to increase the EU’s airlift capabilities by addressing shortages and increasing interoperability. The establishment of a permanent multinational airlift training centre (ETAC) marks a major step forward in European defence collaboration in the critical capability domain of tactical airlift. 
 

Media Day – June 8

Members of the media can avail of seats available on board a flight from Brussels to Zaragoza airbase (kindly provided by the Belgian Defence) for the opening of ETAC. All details can be found here. 

On June 8 EDA will be live from Zaragoza airbase for special coverage of the opening of ETAC. Throughout the day we will be bringing you live updates on twitter of the opening ceremony, graduation of aircrews, interviews and visits to the 3D printing lab. 

Visit our twitter page (@EUDefenceAgency) and get involved using #EUdefence.  

 

 

More information:

• Zaragoza to permanently host the European Tactical Airlift Center from June
• EATF project page  
• EDA consultation to identify impact of 3D-printing technologies in defence

 

 

 

ESF4KSC is a free-of-charge support to industry, RTOs, universities, MODs and armed forces.  This process aims at selecting projects that would benefit with free-of-charge advisory services in order to maximise their chance to be eligible and obtain funding when applying to the European Social Fund (ESF), one of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). EDA has issued to Ministries of Defence (MoDs) a “Request for Projects” to collect projects enhancing Key Skills and Competencies for Defence (KSC). 

Industry, Research-and-Technology Organisations, Universities, entities of the MOD/Armed Forces, as well as other holders of potential projects supporting KSC, can address their MoD to receive the relevant documentation in view of submitting KSC-related projects to their MoD for further submission to the EDA. Once received KSC-related project proposals through the MoD (by the deadline September 18, 2017), EDA will then select some to benefit free-of-charge from high-level advisory services on ESF requirements and to fully develop the application folder, by eventually applying in response to ESF Calls for Proposals.

Since 2014 EDA assists various defence stakeholders to access to EU funding and has been successfully supporting selected pilot dual-use R&T projects applying to the main ESIF, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), thereby paving the way to the acknowledgement that ESIF may fund defence projects [see European Defence Action Plan, COM(2016) 950, 30/11/2016].

Based on past and ongoing EDA’s studies, now EDA addresses its support to access EU funding both to skills in defence industry/RTOs and procurement competencies in MoDs/Armed Forces. 

 

More information:

• Contact EDA on this procedure (“ESF4KSC RfP”)
• EDA’s work on Access to EU funding
• EDA’s work on Key Skills and Competencies for Defence
• EDA’s work in support of Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises

• EDA’s webpage “Industry Info”

 

Exercise FIRE BLADE 2017, which was hosted by the Hungarian Defence Forces, came to an end on Thursday 11 May 2017 and was officially closed by the acting Chief of the Hungarian Air Force, Colonel Pal Szűcs and LTC Roel Cuppes, who represented the EDA. This was the 11th helicopter exercise under the umbrella of EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP). With 16 air assets and roughly 500 military participants, it once again proved the immense value of collaborative training for the troops, aircrew, maintenance and support personnel who took part.

Organised at Pápa in Hungary, the Exercise proved to be a high-tempo, dynamic event. A total of 250 flight hours were accumulated, almost 28000 ammunition rounds and 480 non-guided rockets fired. The five participating Member States (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary) participated with 14 different European helicopters. The first week included a complete day of briefings covering flight safety, expected battle rhythm and host nation support, weapon range procedures and a review of joint helicopter tactics. This theoretical element was followed with familiarisation of the aircrew with Pápa airbase, emergency rehearsals with firefighters and (SOF) troops to take account of the different helicopters types and to ensure high safety levels were achieved in all areas.  The first week continued with individual training, helicopter operations by day and night, fighter evasion missions with Hungarian JAS-39 GRIPEN jets and live-fire training on the different weapon ranges. Despite significant bad weather with low cloud and thunderstorms, all day and night missions were completed successful.

In the second week, the shooting ranges north of Lake Balaton were fully utilised, allowing the flying participants to train in a highly realistic mixed rural and urban environment and adapt their thinking to complex missions with integrated live-firing scenarios. As the exercise matured, the multi-national crews conducted coalition level training, which culminated in the planning and execution of  7 Composite Air Operation (COMAO) missions. These covered a spectrum of advanced helicopter manoeuvre tactics including a large formation of helicopters with embarked troops and integrated training Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTAC), set against complex threats such as SA-6 SAM, T-72 Main Battle tanks and GRIPEN fighter aircraft.

The experience of working together and practicing live firing tactics in combined and joint missions is a critical requirement to maintain operational readiness at a realistic level. With most nations working within tight financial constraints, this level of advanced training is virtually impossible to achieve on a purely national basis.  However, in addition to the cost sharing benefits, the exercise also offers a step change in improved interoperability which has become the hallmark of the HEP.

In his closing remarks, the Exercise Director expressed his appreciation to everyone who had contributed to the success of the exercise: “During this two week period all of you demonstrated a high sense of commitment and accomplished your tasks with diligence and professionalism. We come from different nations, with different languages, but we have the same missions and the same challenges to address. You have demonstrated that working together is the only solution to achieve our appointed tasks and reaching success.”

Even as the Exercise draws to a close, work to identify critical lessons begins.  FIRE BLADE 2017 is but a waypoint in the Programme’s objective of continuous improvement of European helicopter operational capability.  

The job now is to build on this excellent foundation as we move forward to the next exercise in Portugal in June 2018.
 

More information:

• Fact Sheet Exercise FIRE BLADE 2017
• Helicopter Initiatives (EDA project page)
• 11th EDA Helicopter Exercise “FIRE BLADE” ready for take-off in Hungary!