Logistic Air Transport
Transporting equipment and passengers to and from destinations where there is no or little threat. These include supplies for Defence units on exercise abroad or picking up spare parts from suppliers.
Tactical Air Transport
The self-defence capabilities of our A400M allow us to operate within a theatre of operations where a real enemy threat is possible. This allows us to reach areas inaccessible by conventional air transport. We bring equipment and troops to and from the conflict zone (intra-theatre) and move them within this area when the war situation requires it (inter-theatre).
Airborne operations
We enable the deployment of airborne troops, either at low altitude through a classic static-line parachute jump by para-commandos or in small groups from a very high altitude by people from the Special Forces Group. The latter requires the use of supplementary oxygen supplies for both crew and paratroopers.
Tactical Air-Land Operations
Putting combat units on the ground in the middle of the battlefield. This can be on existing airfields that may or may not be secured by friendly forces or on temporarily constructed 'dirt-strips'. These are missions that pose a very high vulnerability for our aircraft and crews while loading or unloading. Time on the ground will be reduced to the absolute minimum and landing and take-off will be done in a tactical manner to avoid possible enemy fire.
Air drop
When it is not possible to safely land the aircraft and do the loading and unloading in a traditional way, we can drop the cargo on the battlefield in many different ways. We are helped in this by the RavAir platoon of the Para-Commando Training Centre at Schaffen.
Transport of (V)(V)IP
The secretary-general of NATO, the president of the EU, ..., these are just a few examples of our clientele. Every day we carry out flights for officials of international institutions, the royal family, the federal government or our defence staff.
Aeromedical Evacuations
The evacuation of sick or injured people is also part of our core business. For this purpose, a special Patient Transport Unit (PTU) was developed with which we can transport severely injured patients, beyond that we can install up to 66 stretchers in our A400M. All this with the necessary support personnel from the Medical Component.
Non-combattant evacuation operations
A NEO is initiated when Belgian citizens are located in another country where the security situation suddenly deteriorates dramatically. The aim is to repatriate the civilians in distress as quickly as possible. Such an operation is done in four phases: activation - deployment - evacuation - redeployment. This type of operation is usually activated within 24 to 48 hours and therefore requires a very high level of readiness of both personnel and equipment.
Search & Rescue
When we talk about Search & Rescue, everyone naturally thinks of the widely known Sea King, yet a cargo plane can also be used to locate drowning people or people stranded in the wilderness. Because we are able to drop equipment, we can immediately drop much-needed aids that increase the chances of survival.
Training
Each of the situations above is practised daily, both at home and abroad. After all, every procedure needs to be performed in every circumstance and by everyone. Always by the book and in the safest way possible.
