The second European Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Course (EAATTC 16-2) of 2016, sponsored by the twenty Nation European Air Transport Fleet (EATF) Partnership, started on 22 May with the arrival of six aircraft and six crews from France, Germany and Spain at the French Bricy Airbase near Orleans in France. The course will run for two weeks and will take the already combat ready crews to the next level through an intensive round of academic lectures, one-on-one tuition and increasingly complex flying evolutions.
As with previous EAATTC courses, the weeks will focus on a specific aspect of advanced capability. For EAATTC 16-2 hosted by France, the focus will be on multi-ship, formation flying - training to drop both equipment and paratroopers in a simulated high threat environment, from multiple aircraft and in a precisely coordinated manner - accurate to the second and dropping within a very small target area. This task is very challenging as the course involves three different aircraft types: C-130, C-160 and Casa-235.
The complexity of each event builds over the period and by the end of the second week the crew commanders will be required to lead a full formation, at low level, evading enemy fighters and numerous simulated ground threat from small arms, hand-held missiles and more elaborate anti-aircraft systems.
The third course for 2016 will run in Bulgaria from 31 July to 12 August.
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