What exactly are we doing when we take our planes into the sky? Although critics sometimes mockingly claim that we are simply conjuring small and large circles in the sky, it should come as no surprise that this is of course not the case.
As the armed forces, we are tasked with maintaining capabilities in peacetime. This means that by far the largest number of flights can be attributed to regular training flight operations. The exact contents result from practice and training requirements, which in turn are derived from upcoming obligations. With the EUROFIGHTER we continuously train our skills in the areas of “Air to Air”, “Air to Surface” and “Tactical Air Reconnaissance”. We fundamentally differentiate between “non-missionized training” and “missionized training”. While in the former we train specific "tools", in the latter we focus on the integrated application of skills in larger operational scenarios - with the corresponding expenditure of resources.
But even in peace there is more than just practicing: in missions (e.g. Counter Daesh), mission-like commitments (e.g. eAP Baltic States), long-term missions (QRA(I) Germany) or in the context of administrative assistance (e.g. aerial photography during the flood of the century in the Ahr Valley) the Air Force uses its capabilities.
One thing is certain: the portfolio of tasks is extremely broad, the calendar is full and the need for practice is great, because in an emergency there is no time for training. We are always ready, that's why we fly every day.
"On behalf"
Gerald Groß