Germany is eyeing the potential of establishing a joint training operation alongside the Netherlands using a single rotorcraft type in order to boost inter-operability between the two nations.
Speaking at Defence IQ’s International Military Helicopter conference in London on 16 February, a German armed forces representative said that the move would build on existing co-operation between the countries, including the creation of a joint division.
“We all think it will be smart to use a common Dutch-German platform for training,” he says. Any helicopter selected for the role could also be used for support or search and rescue (SAR) missions, he suggests.
Noting that the selection of a helicopter for such an operation would be led by procurement officials, he adds: “We are just proposing good ideas and hoping they will be accepted and pushed forward, but I think it is quite smart.
“We are looking at systems that are available and not that complex, which are flying in a very ready state and very useful for a variety of tasks, ranging from training to the light support of operations.
“What [helicopter] type it could be, I cannot tell you, that is a decision for our procurement process, but we do have ideas.”
Germany already uses the Airbus Helicopters H145M for special forces support missions and the civil variant for SAR operations performed by its army.
