ORAC
2nd Sep 2021, 20:10
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/09/02/france-germany-launch-joint-tactical-air-squadron-and-training-center/
France, Germany launch joint tactical air squadron and training center
STUTTGART, Germany – After several years of planning, the French and German air forces have formally launched a binational tactical air transport squadron starting this month, with plans to fully establish the new unit within three years.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly and German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer signed an agreement Aug. 30 to officially create a joint C-130J squadron based at Evreux Air Base in Normandy. The nations’ pilots will then train in mixed teams “without distinction of nationality,” the two defense ministries said in a joint release.
The squadron will consist of 10 C-130J aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin, including six from Germany and four from France. The four French aircraft have been operational and based at Evreux since June 2021, the nation’s ministry of defense said in an email. One of those four aircraft has been deployed in the Sahel region since summer 2020; two of the four C-130Js can be used as aerial refuelers for helicopters.
The German air force procured their six C-130J aircraft in 2019, with half of the aircraft to be outfitted as KC-130J refuelers and the other half in the C-130J-30 variant (https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/germany-c-130j-and-kc-130j-aircraft). The first of those Super Hercules aircraft rolled off the Lockheed Martin production line this past July, according to the Luftwaffe.
The center will reach initial operating capability (IOC) when the first German C-130J aircraft arrives at Evreux, around February 2022, the German air force said. Until then, airmen from the two countries will train on the four French Super Hercules aircraft currently on base.
Full operational capability is expected around 2024. The German C-130Js will be ready to take on missions soon after they are delivered to the French air base between 2022 and 2024, per the French defense ministry…….
France, Germany launch joint tactical air squadron and training center
STUTTGART, Germany – After several years of planning, the French and German air forces have formally launched a binational tactical air transport squadron starting this month, with plans to fully establish the new unit within three years.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly and German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer signed an agreement Aug. 30 to officially create a joint C-130J squadron based at Evreux Air Base in Normandy. The nations’ pilots will then train in mixed teams “without distinction of nationality,” the two defense ministries said in a joint release.
The squadron will consist of 10 C-130J aircraft, built by Lockheed Martin, including six from Germany and four from France. The four French aircraft have been operational and based at Evreux since June 2021, the nation’s ministry of defense said in an email. One of those four aircraft has been deployed in the Sahel region since summer 2020; two of the four C-130Js can be used as aerial refuelers for helicopters.
The German air force procured their six C-130J aircraft in 2019, with half of the aircraft to be outfitted as KC-130J refuelers and the other half in the C-130J-30 variant (https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/germany-c-130j-and-kc-130j-aircraft). The first of those Super Hercules aircraft rolled off the Lockheed Martin production line this past July, according to the Luftwaffe.
The center will reach initial operating capability (IOC) when the first German C-130J aircraft arrives at Evreux, around February 2022, the German air force said. Until then, airmen from the two countries will train on the four French Super Hercules aircraft currently on base.
Full operational capability is expected around 2024. The German C-130Js will be ready to take on missions soon after they are delivered to the French air base between 2022 and 2024, per the French defense ministry…….