North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Air Command
October 2, 2014
BALTIC REGIONAL TRAINING EVENT PROVIDES EXCELLENT INTEROPERABILITY TRAINING
Finnish F-18
Ämari Air Base, Estonia: Interoperability and cooperation between NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries was the focus during the two day Baltic Region Training Event (BRTE) from September 30th to October 1st. Over 16 aircraft from five NATO Nations and two PfP Nations, Sweden and Finland, strengthened their cooperation in a variety of aerial scenarios. The training was supported by the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and a US Air Force tanker aircraft.
Three times a year for the past six years, the Baltic Regional Training Event has taken place in the Baltic States. Due to the augmentation of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) forces in the spring of this year it was possible, during this 19th iteration of the BRTE, to draw on more flying assets already deployed in the region.
“The increased number of fighters involved in the BAP offers a huge benefit for our training,” said Major Dimitrios Koukaras, Hellenic Air Force, who is the project officer for BRTE 19 at NATO’s Air Command in Ramstein, Germany. “This way we can exploit the areas of interoperability and cooperation more deeply. BRTEs are an established series of training events; however, they have nothing to do with the Allied air policing mission in the Baltic region.
”During the media event on September 30th, several journalists had the opportunity to see first-hand what BRTE 19 was about. In addition to a static aircraft display at Ämari Air Base, Estonia, the training included a ‘COMLOSS scenario’. An Estonian L-410 transport plane simulated a loss of communications and was intercepted by fighters from PfP member Finland, which in turn handed it over to the German NATO fighters currently flying out of Ämari. For the journalists on board of the Estonian L-410 this was a special situation. They witnessed the measures and procedures that have to take place in the air and on the ground to identify this aircraft. The media on board the L-410 transport saw the Finnish fighters flying in, handing over the plane to the German fighters which escorted it back to Ämari for a safe landing.
“It is a major benefit for us that Ämari Air Base is the venue for this established training event for the second time,” said the Colonel Jaak Tarien, the Commander of the Estonian Air Force. “This NATO base hosts BAP assets and is now involved in the two-day BRTE. We are very pleased that we can provide our contribution to both Allied projects as a Host Nation.”
BRTE 19 included the following air assets: Portuguese F-16 fighters, Canadian CF-188s, German Eurofighters, Dutch F-16 fighters, Estonian L-410, AN-2 transport aircraft, and a SAR helicopter. PfP nations provided F-18 and JAS-39 Gripen fighters. NATO AWACS and a US Air Force KC-135R tanker aircraft from the United Kingdom also flew in support of the training event. BRTE 19 command and control was provided by Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) Uedem, Germany, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Karmelava, Lithuania, and Finland, Control and Reporting Point (CRP) Ämari, Estonia, as well as civilian Air Traffic Control agencies.
Story by: Air Command Public Affairs Office.
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