Some 20 military helicopter pilots and intelligence officers from Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom participated in the first ever helicopter electronic warfare course organised by the European Defence Agency (EDA), from November 20th to December 1st at RAF airbase Linton-on-Ouse (UK).
The course was initiated under the Agency’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP) to boost helicopter crews’ skills and abilities in electronic warfare systems and tactics, a fast evolving domain which so far barely featured in rotary missions typically deployed to ‘low-tech’ battlefields.
Against this backdrop, the first course was largely devoted to introducing the basics of electronic warfare including the impact and functioning of radar, infra-red (IR) and ultra-violet (UV) systems. Specialists from various defence industries were invited to brief the trainees who also spent some time at the UK electronic warfare range at RAF Spadeadam where they had the opportunity to learn about various surface-to-air missile systems and exchange views with experts operating and maintaining them. The course ended with a visit to the airbase’s simulator where a bespoke electronic warfare sortie was carried out, allowing trainees to apply and visualise some of the theoretical topics previously discussed in the classroom.
All in all a successful first course likely to be followed-up by other electronic warfare courses (basic and advanced level) in 2018 and beyond.
EDA Member States recently adopted the REACH roadmap 2018-2020 which lists all current and potential future EDA activities related to the implementation, in the military domain, of EU Regulation No 1907/2006 on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). The roadmap should allow for a more structured and transparent approach in supporting the main purpose of the REACH regulation which is to protect human health and the environment while, at the same time, ensure the operational effectiveness of Member States’ armed forces.
The activities listed in the roadmap 2018-2020 are the result of an assessment, selection and prioritisation of proposals tabled by Member States, the European Commission, the defence industry as well as the recommendations made in the EDA Study on the Impact of the REACH and CLP Regulations on the Defence Sector which was finalised in December 2016.
In concrete terms, the EDA REACH roadmap 2018-2020 encompasses two categories of activities:
The implementation of the different activities is managed by the Agency which shared the roadmap with all relevant stakeholders. During the whole implementation phase, the EDA will continue to closely cooperate with Member States’ REACH experts (including the EDA REACH Task Force at the technical level), the Commission, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the defence industry.