Europe's defence ministers have signed up to a Franco-British bid to plug a persistent shortage of helicopters able to perform peacekeeping missions in tough terrain.
European armies with the ability to operate helicopter missions in such difficult theatres will now share capabilities ranging from training to fleet technical upgrades such as equipping helicopters with dust filters needed for desert conditions, together with logistic improvements.
"We all know that helicopters are a key military enabler, which can often make the difference in the success or failure of crisis management missions," says European Defence Agency chief Javier Solana, who chaired the ministerial summit.
The agency will co-ordinate the initiative in conjunction with NATO's military headquarters in southern Belgium, with training due to start in the coming year.
"Despite large numbers in European inventories, there remains a shortage of helicopters that can actually be deployed on operations. This is true in all operations theatres," Solana adds.
On other matters, ministers heard a progress report on the development of a common overall strategy in defence research and technology. A first list of 22 technology priorities has been established and the EDA will now foster new collaborations in accordance with them.
"Today's meeting has shown that, across a range of areas, we are moving from theory to practice," says EDA chief executive Alexander Weis. "Our strategies are crucial as they define a common vision of what the agency will deliver for the benefit of its member states and how it will do so. Our objective is now to translate these strategies into real activities and outputs."
Source: Flight International
