Since this week, around 1,500 soldiers from the Dutch land and air forces have been carrying out military exercises in the north of the country as part of the “Falcon Spring” exercise. Around 20 transport and combat helicopters are being deployed around the Leeuwarden airbase – a US helicopter unit is also taking part in the exercise.
The Defensive Helicopter Command (DHC) works closely with the 11th Airmobile Brigade during the exercise. In various exercise scenarios, the helicopters take the airmobile forces into the operational area, where they have to capture and secure strategically important targets under simulated enemy conditions.
The majority of missions take place at night. Helicopter crews regularly train low-altitude maneuvers – an important skill to remain undetected by radar and missile systems in threatening situations. Low-level flight significantly increases survivability in combat, but requires targeted and continuous training.
But it is not only in the air that training takes place. A large part of the operations take place on the ground. As part of “Falcon Spring”, several temporary bases are set up within a very short space of time – so-called Forward Operating Bases (FOB). In a real conflict, staying permanently at a central base would be too great a risk. The troops therefore move regularly in order to remain mobile and difficult to reconnoitre. The deployments start from temporary bases in Drachten, Havelte and Marnehuizen.
For the first time, the DHC is training in a scenario with several mobile bases – a realistic and strategically relevant concept. The aim is to prepare the forces for future missions in which rapid deployability and operational flexibility are required.
Comprehensive logistical support is required to set up this complex infrastructure. To this end, around 150 vehicles were moved north from the Gilze-Rijen site.
