In the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks on Brussels, Sven Biscop argues that now is not the time for grand words but greater European solidarity and cooperation.
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Exercise COLD BLADE 2016, hosted by the Finnish Defence Forces, was formally completed Wednesday evening March 16th 2016 by the Chief of Finnish Army Aviation, LtCol Jaro Kesänen.
At exercise closure, a total of 290 hours had been flown on 156 missions with 3 participating Member States (Finland and Germany, as well as Sweden which sent observers) and 10 European helicopters: seven NH-90, one MD500 and two CH-53GA. Italian attendees participated in the survival training.
This cold weather exercise was operated from Ivalo airbase in Finland. The challenging winter scenario in Lapland allowed Finland and Germany to train and adapt their aircrew to winter conditions. Besides the focus on flying in demanding white-out conditions, the exercise was used to test the helicopters, test the aircrew and to teach and learn Technics, Tactics and Procedures in a cold and snowy environment.
During the first week, Finland and Germany executed individual trainings, qualifying helicopter pilots and loadmasters in white-out landings and navigation skills in an area with barely any houses or roads. During day and night missions all training aims were met and, even with Night Vision Goggles, the nights were very dark in northern Finland. During the second week, formation flights with German CH-53GA and Finnish NH-90 helicopters were flown at night. While aircrew from Germany and Finland were flying, Italian militaries attended the survival course and learned how to survive in Lapland.
The German Detachment commander praised the unique nature of the exercise and stressed that the added value of cooperating with other nations and practicing winter operations in combined missions just could not have been achieved by working alone. The skills developed during the exercise are precisely those needed to conduct successful operations in the future. These types of exercises truly enhance helicopter capabilities in Europe which also reflects the objective of EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP). Since the first exercise in France in 2009, trainings have increased in scale, environmental challenges and complexity. Participants not only came from different nations but also from different branches with air force and army all working together. In exercise Cold Blade 2016, German Army NH-90 mechanics executed tests and exchanged information with their Finnish counterparts concerning winter maintenance, use of tools and NH-90 helicopter documentation.
This was the first EDA exercise hosted by Finland.
(picture above and video were provided by Finnish Defence Forces)
A new promising defence-related project on Energy Storage Technology was launched by EDA at a kick-off meeting on 11 March. The so-called NEXTT project standing for “New Energy storage using compleX hydride Tanks for Thermoneutral systems”, was initiated by the European Defence Agency in the framework of the second Joint Investment Programme on Innovative Concepts and Emerging Technologies (JIP ICET 2).
The project’s objective is to develop a new energy storage system for hydrogen, using new materials and advanced tank solutions with the following targets: high gravimetric density for high mobility of the system; high volumetric density for compactness and practicability of the system; and optimized heat absorption leading to low heat losses and thus reduced thermal signature of the overall system.
The NEXTT project demonstrates and reflects in an exemplary manner the key idea behind the JIP ICET 2 programme, namely to involve the full spectrum of entities in the R&T cycle, ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over research centres to big industry, as the end-user of the technology development. The NEXTT consortium is led by a spin-off SME of an Austrian University (Forschungs- und Technologietransfer GmbH, FOTEC) with two major research centres (Fraunhofer IFAM, Germany, and Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives CEA, France), as well as an industrial end-user (DCNS Group, France) also participating. This bandwidth allows the consortium to cover all aspects of the targeted development from research in advanced materials and system integration up to the military application. The NEXTT project also promotes civil-military synergies and dual-use technologies as it aims to transfer technologies and knowledge already used by the space industry to the defence sector for further development. The launch of NEXTT completes the lists of projects which had been earmarked under JIP ICET 2 in view of fostering the development of new, innovative technologies that have potential to enable future military capabilities. JIP ICET 2 is managed and funded by Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden in the framework of the EDA.