EATC: samenwerking bij luchttransport

Gestart door -Peter-, 22/02/2007 | 15:23 uur

Harald

Diversity in Airlift

Air mobility and airlift capabilities represent critical assets, as they guarantee deployment and sustainability of forces, both globally as well as within the European theatre.

Both assets cover a wide range of tasks, such as strategic long-range outsized cargo transport, intra-theatre logistics, special operations or medical evacuation and provide access to theatres across the globe. Whether these tasks are foreseen for military or humanitarian purposes, for critical crisis response, or long-term peace stabilisation roles, they can easily 'eat up' a fair portion of the lifespans of whole fleets or individual aircraft types, which are often already decades old in some cases.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further exacerbated the problem, creating a sense of urgency within Allied military headquarters. In addition to probably ending the use of the iconic Antonov-124 by European nations, this war has also reminded Western nations of some critical needs, not least of which is the ability to transport and deploy – either for their own militaries or as with Ukraine, to support a third party in dire need – quantities of large air platforms at short notice. With this particular domain however, organisation(s) and individual nations, are quite widely stretched. This article attempts to provide a short overview of military airlift developments and the various platforms, both currently operational and planned.

Organisationally Oriented via a Multitude of Acronyms
The wide range of acronyms related to the heavy lift domain (ETAC, MCCE, ETAP, FMTC and SATOC) can initially look quite confusing. We begin with the multinational European Air Transport Command (EATC), headquartered at Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Since the first Franco-German idea in 1999 of identifying NATO- and EU-shortfalls in the domain of strategic transportation (some of which are still present) and its inauguration by four founding members, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany, EATC has demonstrated its objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of its member nations' military air transport efforts. Today, the fleet comprises over 150 assets, located at national air bases of the founding four nations, in addition to Luxembourg (2012) Spain and Italy (2014). All EATC nations are also members of MCCE, the Movement Coordination Centre Europe.

Then there is the European Tactical Airlift Programme (ETAP), developed with a view to improving the operational airlift capability of European countries, coupled with the aim of achieving greater interoperability between participating nations. The programme also aims to improve and develop common tactics, techniques and procedures in order to overcome the challenges of flying transport aircraft in a modern joint and joint operating environment. ETAP is divided into three distinct programmes: European Tactical Airlift Programme – Course (ETAP-C); European Tactical Air Transport Programme – Instructor Course (ETAP-I) and European Tactical Air Transport Training Program (ETAP-T). ETAP-C provides aircrews with a comprehensive course in airlift tactics, in order to enhance the tactical knowledge of the forces involved and expand the area of expertise, also in hostile scenarios. The latter also seeks to expose trainees to SAM- and fighter-threats.

From 5–16 June 2023, this year's edition of ETAP-C's Element Lead exercise was held in Orléans. Six transport crews from France, Belgium, Spain and Germany took part for the precious Element Leader qualification, which documents the ability to prepare, lead and debrief a mission involving two or three aircraft. In order to achieve the qualification, each aircraft flew eight missions in two- or three-plane formations, sometimes as leader, sometimes as wingman.

Currently taking place in Beja, Portugal, ETAP-T is a periodic two-week training exercise, where each type of mission is experienced. According to the characteristics and requirements of each participant, the aim is to generate greater interoperability between the various participating countries, thereby creating a foundation for successful joint and combined operations.

ETAP-I is for European airlift instructor pilots with greater experience and knowledge of the different types of existing transport aircraft, and is designed to train and assist crews during flight preparation and support them during mission execution.

The Role of the EDA
The European Defence Agency (EDA) has a role to play in this field. Following a request from their project coordinators, since January 2023 the EDA has supported three Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects focused on the harmonisation of the requirements of two totally new platforms designed to shape future European airlift capabilities in the realm of mid-sized and out-sized cargo. While the current conditions for European nations to commit to a new unified effort may be positive, key considerations to be taken into account relate to development funds versus potential sales figures.

When it comes to the supported projects, European countries are looking at the Future Medium-Size Tactical Cargo (FMTC) and the Strategic Air Transport for Outsized Cargo (SATOC). Both projects were launched in the fourth cycle of PESCO projects and are coordinated by France and Germany respectively. FMTC gathers France, together with Germany, Spain and Sweden as project members while SATOC gathers Germany, together with the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands in this four-nation SATOC project.

FMTC seeks to enhance air mobility capabilities with a new mid-size tactical cargo aircraft that aims to complement the missions of the A400M, including on shorter, unprepared landing strips. The study plan for a draft joint document proposes an analysis of the operational needs for EU tactical transport in the period 2030–2050, with the identification of opportunities for the development of FMTC in Europe. The tender, which asks for an evaluation of one or two aircraft, was signed in June 2022 and remained open until 24 November 2022. The chosen platform might well be a European derivative of Embraer's C-390M, which is an almost perfect fit and partly consists of key sub-assemblies already produced in Portugal and the Czech Republic.

SATOC on the other hand aims to fill the critical shortfall for the crucial larger, strategic transport of outsized and heavy cargo. The programme involves a 3-step approach, firstly identifying a sufficient number of project members, secondly harmonising requirements, and finally identifying and agreeing on a common European solution for the transport of outsized cargo.

Moscow's assault on Ukraine has also underscored the importance of outsized and heavy cargo transport, coupled with the fact that the destruction of several Antonov aircraft – including to the world's largest cargo aircraft, the An-225 Mriya – has further reduced access by armed forces in Europe to strategic airlift possibilities. That leaves the three C-17A aircraft of the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) based at Pápa Airbase in
Hungary as the segment's only alternative. In 2016, SAC, with its 12 participants (11 NATO, plus Sweden) moved to new facilities there, including the largest purpose-built C-17 hangar on the European continent, while a new C-17 simulator building is scheduled for construction in 2025.

This current two-fold harmonisation phase carried out by EDA is a positive development. However, as ever when it comes to European 'jointness', it has to be supported by a clear expression of interest for a fixed number of aircraft, so as to provide manufacturers (such as Airbus) some degree of visibility regarding the project's viability.

Ageing Fleets
Currently, EU Member States, the US Armed Forces, and also larger operators such as India, operate a wide range of tactical cargo aircraft, including the C-130H/J, C-390, C-295 and C-27J. Apart from the 180 units of the A400M, a modern strategic-tactical cross-over platform, and Embraer's C-390, a portion of these platforms will be approaching the end of their life cycle in the coming decade. This also is the case for rest-of-the-world fleets of Russian (or indeed Soviet-era) Il-76s, with the notable exception of a huge build-up to 100+ Chinese C-17 'sibling' Soloviev aircraft, powered by Xi'an Y-20A Kunpeng and Y-20B with domestic WS-20 engines. On 9 April 2022, six Y-20 aircraft landed at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla International Airport, delivering a shipment of FK-3 SAM-systems and on 28 June 2022, six Y-20 aircraft arrived in Afghanistan to deliver 105 tonnes of humanitarian aid in response to the June 2022 earthquake. In early 2023, one Y-20A was visiting as far away as Innsbruck in Austria's Alps, to support a Chinese mountain troop unit participating in a mountaineering challenge.

Coming from US manufacturers, there are three mainstays in operation, of which the strategic C-17 has been out of production for eight years now, and which continues to serve the armed forces of the UK, India, Australia, UAE and Qatar. A total of 52 C-5M life-extended Super-Galaxy aircraft have been re-delivered since 2018 and are set to transport the heaviest and largest US assets until 2040. A genuine replacement is not in sight, apart from the recent USD 235 M contract awarded in August 2023 to JetZero to produce a flyable full-size demonstrator of the radical tailless flying-wing blended-wing body (BWB) XBW-1 by the first quarter of 2027. However, the goal – so far at least – is to only demonstrate the capabilities of BWB technology, giving the DoD and commercial industry partners more options for their future air platforms. According to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, the USAF and NASA would also contribute to producing the test aircraft, as would JetZero's partner Scaled Composites, owned by Northrop Grumman.

India's Byzantine Projects
New Delhi is known to many aviation observers for its often large-scale and ambitious projects, which have been known to take a considerable amount of time to materialise. This is certainly the case regarding India's airlift capability, where the 2020 border stand-off with China has obviously changed the nature of airlift and support for the Indian Army in high-altitude areas.

New Delhi is looking to procure a light tank weighing up to 25 tonnes for deployment in the mountains, especially in Eastern Ladakh. This has resulted in a fresh look at procuring a medium transport aircraft (MTA) and resulted in a comprehensive study to identify the current and future payload-carrying requirements. A Request for Information (RFI) was issued to global manufacturers for aircraft in December 2022, with an unusually broad load-carrying capacity between 18 to 30 tonnes. Three companies responded with a 'Rough Order of Magnitude [ROM] cost of aircraft and associated equipment' for a batch of 40, 60, or even 80 aircraft until an extended deadline of 31 March 2023. The three included Airbus, with the A-400M with a maximum carrying capacity of 37 tonnes and with user Malaysia already in the region; Lockheed Martin with its C-130J (20 tonnes); and Embraer with the C-390 (26 tonnes). So far, and unsurprisingly, at present nothing has been decided with the MTA programme.

On the other hand, in September 2021, the Indian Defence Ministry signed a contract with Airbus and Space S.A., Spain, for the procurement of 56 smaller C-295MW transport aircraft to replace the decades-old Avro 748 and part of the An-32 aircraft fleet, executed in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), and with a final assembly line to be set up in Vadodara, Gujarat. The first C-295 aircraft was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 25 September 2023. The IAF's hodgepodge transport fleet currently consists of over 100 An-32s, Avro 748s, IL-76 heavy transports (45–50 tonnes of payload) and IL-78 tankers, as well as 12 C-130J Super Hercules and 11 C-17 Globemaster strategic airlifters (70 tonnes).

The Indefatigable Hercules
The most numerous airframe type – and not only in the US inventory – remains Lockheed Martin's evergreen C-130 series; with the C-130J and stretched 30-model still in production at Marietta – not only for US forces – but currently also for a new customer, Germany. As the world's most widely operated tactical-transport aircraft, the 525 Super-Hercules delivered thus far (in 18 versions) have accumulated more than 2.5 million flight hours by 25 different operators in 21 countries. Lockheed Martin's Director of Air Mobility and Maritime Missions, Richard Johnston spoke to the author and emphasised that "the best replacement of the venerable Hercules is another, new built one".

For some users, including Australia and Indonesia, this seems straightforward and logical. However, in the case of Austria and its (ex-RAF) C-130K replacement for example, on 20 September, it was decided to procure four jet-powered Embraer C-390s instead. In this particular case, the requirements demanded the capability to transport the locally produced Pandur EVO IFV with mounted remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) or to airlift an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter. Vienna has decided to operate a 'supply and humanitarian military cargo airline.' Interestingly, the Austrian plan is to attempt to jump on a currently negotiated form of G2G agreement with the Netherlands, where five of the Brazilian 'new kids on the block' have already been selected. In addition to Portugal (with five ordered, one delivered) and Hungary (two in production), the Czech Republic and Sweden are expected to follow.

Embraer claims that its C-390 Millennium was developed together with the Brazilian Air Force to explicitly address the shortcomings of the C-130; however the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) will now receive 19 instead of the originally planned 28. Subsequently, there are enough slots for new customers who are 'in a hurry', including the Austrians who are against spending another EUR 30+ M on heavy maintenance, repair and overhaul costs. One of the three 1967 airframes was overhauled at OGMA in Alverca, Portugal last year, but on the other two – though satisfied with the quality – Vienna wanted to avoid this scenario, in light of the swift arrival of the C-390s.

Regarding Austria and Sweden, both countries were briefly looking for replacements of their decades-old C-130s on the used aircraft market, when they were examining Italian C-130Js from the early 2000s temporarily stored at Pisa. However, upon learning that their avionics-standard was 6.1 (new builds are 8.1 standard) both countries stepped back. Bahrain, however, received the first batch of ex-RAF C-130Js, which were retired early in 2023 since they are 20+ years old. Even older airframes have entered service elsewhere, with the Polish Air Force in 2021 taking on five C-130Hs built in 1985 and stored in the Arizona desert since 2017, via a grant from the Pentagon's Excess Defense Articles programme for USD 14.3 M. This covers the cost of aircraft regeneration and retrofits, which includes a replacement of the centre wingbox. The five aircraft should all enter operational service at the 33rd Transport Air Base at Powidz by 2024, and still be 15 years younger than the previously operated 'stone-age' E-model Hercules acquired in 2012.

https://euro-sd.com/2023/11/news/air/34944/diversity-in-airlift/

artemivanov

Initial operational capability of the aircraft fleet

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today (23 March 2023) welcomed the launch of a Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft fleet that is "now ready for a full range of missions" at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands.
NATO Secretary General welcomes multinational fleet of tanker transport NATO Secretary General welcomes multinational fleet of tanker transport

The Secretary General attended a ceremony to mark the initial operational capability of the aircraft fleet, together with Dutch Minister of Defence, Kajsa Ollongren, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and officials from five other nations participating in the project: Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Luxembourg and Norway.

?These aircraft will provide us with world-class air-to-air refuelling, air transport and air medical evacuation capabilities. Tanker aircraft is the backbone of Allied air power,? Mr Stoltenberg said. ?Most importantly, the fleet has already proven its value. Since Russia?s brutal invasion of Ukraine, these tanker transport aircraft have helped to protect NATO?s eastern flank,? he added.

Last year alone, the fleet flew more than 500 missions, refuelling hundreds of NATO fighter jets to keep Allied airspace safe. These aircraft have also supported the evacuation of civilians and refugees from Afghanistan, deployed to the Indo-Pacific for exercises with key NATO partners, including Australia, and later this year, they will deploy to the Middle East to support operations against ISIS.

The European Defence Agency, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency worked together to develop this state-of-the-art fleet.

?This is an excellent example of how NATO and the EU are working together to deliver critical capabilities for our members,? Mr Stoltenberg said. ?This also demonstrates that European Allies are stepping up for their defence and strengthening our shared security,? he concluded.

Currently, seven aircraft from the fleet are in service. Two more are expected to join in 2024, with the tenth aircraft scheduled for delivery at the end of 2026.   

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_213125.html

(staat niet in het artikel vermeld, maar Belgi? heeft 1100 extra vlieguren ingekocht wat de aanschaf van het 10e toestel mogelijk maakt.)

jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Citaat van: Harald op 01/02/2023 | 11:17 uur
Idd ik denk ik dat ze overgaan tot het ontwikkelen van een ; Airbus A-600M.

De aanschaf zou ook weer in een "pool"- constructie kunnen, waarbij diversen vlieguren claimen en afnemen. Net als met de MRTT's

Als ze slim zijn dan ontwikkelen ze een (kleinere) variant van de A380 i.c.m een Amerikaanse partner, immers ook de VS heeft nog niets in ontwikkeling of planning als vervangers van C-17 en C5.

Harald

Idd ik denk ik dat ze overgaan tot het ontwikkelen van een ; Airbus A-600M.

De aanschaf zou ook weer in een "pool"- constructie kunnen, waarbij diversen vlieguren claimen en afnemen. Net als met de MRTT's 

Parera

#74
Mooie ontwikkeling, maar de grote vraag is wat wil men aankopen / inhuren? Zo veel mogelijkheden zijn er niet naar mijn idee, het moet bijna wel extra C-17 capaciteit worden wat dan 2e hands aangekocht moet worden omdat er geen actieve productielijn meer is van de C-17. Een ander ongetwijfeld (veel) duurder en langer durend alternatief is (wat ik nu even) een Airbus A-600M (noem).

Ik denk dat die laatste optie wel heel interessant kan zijn, we weten dat Oekraine zelf ook weer AN-225's wil gaan herproduceren, ongetwijfeld ziet Airbus hier wel markt voor. Een ander alternatief is afwachten wat de Yanks gaan doen, maar dat zal ook niet een snellere optie zijn.

Ondanks de grote problemen die geweest zijn met de A400M durf ik wel te zeggen dat Airbus nu weet hoe men een militair transport toestel moet bouwen. Daarnaast hebben ze ervaring met de Beluga en BelugaXL series vrachtvliegtuigen. Een vergrote A400M met jet's moet wel te ontwerpen zijn verwacht ik, de vraag is hoelang heeft AB nodig hiervoor en wat gaat dit project kosten voor een in het begin relatief kleine hoeveelheid kisten.

Een interim oplossing kan zijn het aankopen /leasen van een x aantal Beluga's.

Harald

European Defence Agency supports two PESCO projects on future European airlift capabilities  ( ontwikkeling van nieuwe grote vrachttoestellen, goede zaak )

The European Defence Agency (EDA) will support two Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects focused on shaping future European airlift capabilities, for both mid-sized and out-sized cargo, following a request from their project coordinators.

EDA is tasked to assist with the harmonisation of the requirements for two platforms; the Future Medium-Size Tactical Cargo (FMTC) and the Strategic Air Transport For Outsized Cargo (SATOC). Both projects were launched in the fourth wave of PESCO projects and are coordinated by France and Germany, respectively; with the FMTC also gathering Germany, Spain and Sweden as project members and Czechia, France and Netherlands in the four-nation SATOC project.

Medium & Outsized Cargo: Requirements for 2035+

Tactical cargo aircraft are the workhorses of the air forces in terms of logistics, medical evacuations, and special missions. Currently, EU Member States operate a wide range of tactical cargo aircraft (e.g. C-130, C-295, C-27J). Apart from the A400M, a modern strategic-tactical cross-over platform, many of them will be approaching the end of their life cycle in the upcoming decade. The main objective of the FMTC project is to develop the next-generation tactical air mobility capability of the armed forces of EU Member States. It aims at providing the participating Member States and industry with robust elements to decide what the 2035+ future of EU military tactical medium-size transport fleets will be by defining common requirements for a new Future Mid-size Tactical Cargo.

SATOC aims to fill the critical shortfall for strategic transport for outsized and heavy cargo, a crucial enabler for military missions and operations. SATOC involves a 3-step approach, firstly by identifying a sufficient number of project members, harmonising requirements and finally identifying and agreeing on a common European solution for the transport of outsized cargo. Russia?s war of aggression against Ukraine has also underscored the importance of outsized and heavy cargo transport. The destruction of several Antonov aircraft, including AN-225 Mriya (the world?s largest cargo aircraft) has further reduced the European Armed Forces' access to strategic airlift.

EDA?s support to FMTC and SATOC, which will run for an initial 24 months, will be dedicated to harmonising the requirements of the project members and drafting a joint document of precise common guidance for research and development for the envisioned platform.

Common requirements for a common vision

Defining common requirements is an essential step in order to allow project members to align towards a joint vision for the future medium-sized and outsized cargo aircraft. In other words, common requirement articulation can be seen as the basis that all subsequent decisions in the ensuing programme will reference. They prescribe the fundamental performance criteria and innovation level of the platform that is destined to be a crucial element in future military campaigns of Member States. Furthermore, it will serve as a basis for the work of the European defence industry, starting with a feasibility study and proceeding with the design and prototyping of the new generation aircraft.

Harmonised requirements lower the life-cycle cost by avoiding late design changes and excessive versioning, and prevent fragmentation of future air mobility fleets at large by allowing for a platform development that serves an array of Member States. EDA will provide its expertise and input for the elaboration of the requirements, building on its experience in harmonisation of project partners.

EDA engages in the document drafting process by highlighting areas that connect to ongoing efforts in related fields, such as defence aviation R&T, providing its experience in interoperability matters of tactical airlift, and supporting the discussion with best practices in achieving a programme that maximises Member States participation.

EDA supporting 10 PESCO projects

FMTC and SATOC are the 9th and 10th PESCO project to be supported by the Agency. PESCO, which recently marked five years since its launch, has also be able to benefit from the expertise of the EDA. EDA?s support has grown from initial modest administrative support to a couple of PESCO?s smaller-scale projects, but has since grown to include major weapons platforms, such as the FMTC and European Patrol Corvette.

EDA offers three forms of support to PESCO projects, first is administrative support by helping a PESCO project to organise meetings and providing facilities for project-related work. The second form of PESCO support is consultancy and expertise as in the case of the FMTC. Here the Agency and the PESCO project agree on the specific tasks EDA will carry out for a project. This could entail support in capturing the detailed operational and technical requirements, as well as developing its ConOps (concept of operations) by a certain deadline or defining specifications for its technical study.

The final form of EDA support is when participating members of a PESCO project choose to establish their project at the Agency, which means other Member States can choose to opt into, or join, the endeavour at a later stage, with EDA serving as project manager. To date, three PESCO projects are being taken forward within the Agency; CBRN Surveillance as a Service (CBRN SaaS); Deployable Modular Underwater Intervention Capability Package (DIVEPACK); and European Patrol Corvette.

EDA's role

The European Defence Agency (EDA) supports its 26 Member States in improving their defence capabilities through European cooperation. Acting as an enabler and facilitator for Ministries of Defence willing to engage in collaborative capability projects, the Agency has become the ?hub? for European defence cooperation with expertise and networks allowing it to the whole spectrum of defence capabilities.

https://www.airrecognition.com/index.php/news/defense-aviation-news/2023-news-aviation-aerospace/january/8881-european-defence-agency-supports-two-pesco-projects-on-future-european-airlift-capabilities.html

Lex


Micheltje

Citaat van: Ronald Elzenga op 29/06/2017 | 22:12 uur
Omdat we niet het Atlantische pact moeten versterken zo maar het EUropese. En Noorwegen is inderdaad nog geen EU lid. Maar dat komt wel een keer. De luxe die ze nu hebben verdwijnt. Mits de EU natuurlijk op een gezonde manier wordt herijkt..en men niet doorschiet.

Dat raad ik ten zeerste af gezien de politiek de NAVO boven de EU stelt

Ronald Elzenga

Citaat van: Sparkplug op 29/06/2017 | 21:19 uur
Waarom? En Noorwegen is geen EU lid.
Omdat we niet het Atlantische pact moeten versterken zo maar het EUropese. En Noorwegen is inderdaad nog geen EU lid. Maar dat komt wel een keer. De luxe die ze nu hebben verdwijnt. Mits de EU natuurlijk op een gezonde manier wordt herijkt..en men niet doorschiet.

Sparkplug

Citaat van: Ronald Elzenga op 29/06/2017 | 21:07 uur
Nu nog zorgen dat dit op termijn overgaat naar de EU!

Waarom? En Noorwegen is geen EU lid.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Ronald Elzenga

Nu nog zorgen dat dit op termijn overgaat naar de EU!

Lex

Duitsland en Noorwegen treden toe tot project Multi Role Tanker Transport

Nieuwsbericht | 29-06-2017 | 14:32

Duitsland en Noorwegen doen mee met de aanschaf van Airbus-tanker-/transportvliegtuigen. De Duitse minister van Defensie Ursula von der Leyen en haar Noorse collega Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide zetten vandaag in Brussel hun handtekeningen onder het Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Nederland is voortrekker van dit Europese samenwerkingsproject.

Nederland en Luxemburg kochten bijna een jaar geleden 2 A330 MRTT-toestellen bij Airbus. Beide landen ondertekenden vandaag in Brussel eveneens het MoU, dat de noodzakelijke wijzigingen bevat ten opzichte van het document van vorig jaar.

7 toestellen

Nu Duitsland en Noorwegen zijn toegetreden, worden er 5 vliegtuigen extra besteld. Het programma bestaat daardoor straks uit een pool van 7 stuks. De deelnemende landen mogen een aantal vlieguren gebruiken dat afhangt van hun aandeel in de investeringen.

De toestellen worden vanaf 2020 geleverd. 4 krijgen Vliegbasis Eindhoven als thuisbasis, de andere 3 komen in Duitsland. De machines verminderen in de toekomst het tekort aan tanker- en transportcapaciteit van EU en NAVO.

Het aantal van 7 toestellen kan nog toenemen als meer landen meedoen. De investeringskosten en de jaarlijkse exploitatiekosten gaan voor Nederland flink omlaag. De investeringskosten voor Nederland blijven binnen de aan de Tweede Kamer gemelde bandbreedte van 250 miljoen tot 1 miljard euro.

De deelname van de landen is een groot succes voor de Europese defensiesamenwerking. Nederland is sinds het begin in 2012 voortrekker van het MRTT-programma van het Europees Defensie Agentschap.

België is voornemens het MOU begin 2018 te ondertekenen.

Mindef

De Kamerbrief met aanvullende info

Lex

10 jaar strategisch militair transport smaakt naar meer

Nieuwsbericht | 08-05-2017 | 17:21

Na 10 jaar is het weer hoog tijd dat Europa verder kijkt. Dat zei minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert vandaag in Eindhoven bij het 2e lustrum van het Movement Coordination Centre Europe (MCCE). Ze pleitte voor meer Europese versterking op logistiek gebied om de steeds onveiligere wereld het hoofd te bieden.

Het MCCE coördineert het strategisch militair transport van 28 deelnemende landen van de NAVO en EU. Ook regelt het centrum het bijtanken van vliegtuigen in de lucht. De gezamenlijke land-, zee- en luchttransportmiddelen worden zo beter benut en dat bespaart miljoenen. Het MCCE, gehuisvest op Vliegbasis Eindhoven, is het kloppend hart van Europa's militaire strategische transport.

Perfect

Als samenvoeging van het European Airlift Centre en het Sealift Coordination Centre ging het MCCE in 2007 met 14 landen aan de slag. De uitvoering gebeurde door pioniers met visie en experts die hun kennis deelden. Hennis noemde de ontwikkeling van het MCCE een perfect voorbeeld hoe bottom-up en top-down elkaar versterken. Begin dit jaar verwelkomde het Bulgarije als 28e lid.

Onrust

Maar de politiek moet ook nu doorpakken vindt Hennis. Na jaren van bezuinigingen verhogen de meeste landen hun defensiebudget. We moeten elkaar logistiek versterken om te kunnen reageren op de onrust in grote delen van de wereld: de instabiliteit in Oost- en Zuid-Europa, radicalisering en terrorisme in grote delen van het Midden-Oosten en Afrika tasten ook onze veiligheid aan. De minister refereerde daarbij ook aan de onvoorspelbare opstelling van Rusland.

Hennis: "Het is hoog tijd dat Europa meer verantwoordelijkheid neemt. Een sterker Europa verstevigt ook de NAVO". Als goed voorbeeld noemde ze de vooruitgeschoven militaire aanwezigheid in de Baltische Staten en Polen.

Militair Schengen

Een nieuw Europees initiatief is het Permanent Structured Cooperation, waarin verschillende (logistieke) projecten samenkomen. Ook al heeft het MCCE belangrijke stappen gezet, er moet nog veel gebeuren om grensoverschrijdend verkeer van militairen en middelen mogelijk te maken. Hennis ziet een soort militair Schengen-akkoord voor zich, waarbij militairen en materiaal zich binnen Europa vrij kunnen bewegen.

De minister pleit ervoor dat verbetering van de logistieke coördinatie op de politieke agenda blijft staan.

Mindef

Harald

Contract for shared European tankers to be signed in July

contract for four Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft shared by the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg and Poland is to be signed next July during the Farnborough Airshow. That's the news that emerged on Wednesday 20 April during a media briefing at the European Air Transport Command (EATC) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

The aircraft will be based at Eindhoven and carry Dutch military registration numbers. A Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed first in Warzaw during a NATO summit.

The fleet should increase to eight aircraft at a later stage. EATC will be responsible for tasking the aircraft and optiziming their use. The aircraft should also operated from Forward Operating Bases in Norway and Poland.

More about European Air Transport Command and the current European Air-to-Air Refueling Training (EART) at Eindhoven airbase follows soon, here at Airheadsfly.com. See here for a report on last year's EART.
http://airheadsfly.com/2015/04/20/press-play-closing-the-tanker-gap-with-eart/

http://airheadsfly.com/2016/04/20/contract-for-shared-european-tankers-to-be-signed-in-july/


Elzenga

Goede zaak! Op naar een eigen EUropese defensieorganisatie!!