On November 6, the helicopter hangar was used for the temporary deployment of a Austrian Armed Forces-helicopter during disasters – and as part of assistance missions – was opened at the Walgau barracks by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Governor Markus Wallner.
Until now, the helicopter requested by the provincial government via the Vorarlberg military command before crises (large amounts of snow or rain) had to be parked outside without protection and undergo lengthy de-icing and preparation before take-off. In future, the helicopters provided will be ready for use directly from the hangar in the shortest possible time to protect and help the population.
Rapid provision of assistance
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner addressed precisely this: “By building the helicopter hangar in the Walgau barracks, we are ensuring that the Austrian Armed Forces can provide rapid assistance in various types of emergencies. Western Austria in particular often has to deal with natural disasters, such as massive amounts of snow and avalanches in the winter months. If a municipality or authority needs support, our soldiers can now respond even faster. Our aim is to make our armed forces even more modern and operationally ready following the arrival of the new multi-purpose helicopter. Our mission is ‘Forward!’ and the hangar construction is an important step in this direction.” https://militaeraktuell.at/militaer-des-jahres-awards-vergeben/ The helicopter hangar is 550 square meters in size and can accommodate all the different types of helicopter used by the Austrian Armed Forces, including the S-70 Black Hawk and the new Leonardo AW169 helicopter, of which Austria now owns five (a total of 32 machines have been ordered).will be accommodated. The weather-protected accommodation of a Bundesheer helicopter and the possibility of carrying out maintenance work on site is an essential improvement in the use of Bundesheer helicopters in Vorarlberg. Construction took around six months and cost around 1.8 million euros. Following the opening, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner visited the “Walgau 23” exercise, which is currently taking place.
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