EDA’s helicopter training chalks up successes

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has completed its 50th Helicopter Tactics Course (HTC), the agency announced on 24 October.

The course, which ran over three weeks at UK Royal Air Force base Linton-on-Ouse, was successfully completed on 13 October.

Started in 2009 as an ‘Interim Synthetic HTC’, the programme was transformed in 2012 into an EDA ‘Category B ad hoc project’. Since 2009, a total of 641 crewmembers from 16 European countries have graduated from the course.

The course delivers advanced helicopter tactics training under EDA’s Pooling and Sharing initiative. The programme aims to enhance the European helicopter operational capability for crisis management and improve the interoperability of member states’ helicopter crews.

The HTC course covers training for pilots, loadmasters, and door gunners in defending against ground and air threats. The course is divided into two phases: the first week focusing on theoretical training and two additional weeks focusing on simulator-based training.

Seven EDA Member States are currently participating in the HTC programme: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the UK.