• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Successful "Training of Trainers" in Eurofighter technology

The first course for Eurofighter ground staff is completed

Munich, 10 December 2003

EADS Military Aircraft has successfully completed the initial training of the instructors and management staff of the Eurofighter ground crews within the German Luftwaffe.

Over the past eleven months, 20 trainers from EADS and four from MTU have jointly instructed 220 soldiers in the equipment and maintenance of the fighter aircraft. For this purpose, the Eurofighter GT001 and several highly developed training devices such as the rescue system trainer and the weapon loading trainer were available at the Air Force School of Engineering No. 1 in Kaufbeuren.

Eurofighter belongs to the latest generation of combat aircraft and incorporates complex software-controlled systems. Using integrated diagnostic routines, on-site maintenance personnel investigate these systems for errors. Damaged components first have to be located and then replaced. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to test and repair them. Eurofighter maintenance therefore increasingly requires the ability to understand complex system interactions. In close cooperation with the Luftwaffe, EADS Military Aircraft has developed fundamentally new training concepts in order to meet these changed requirements.

Spread over 16 courses, 71 soldiers learnt predominantly about the maintenance of the avionics system, whilst 149 dealt with the aircraft's mechanics in detail. The Luftwaffe has recognised the training certificates awarded at the end, thus acknowledging the achievements of both the EADS instructors and the technicians who have been qualified by the company.

"This puts the Luftwaffe in a position to operate the aircraft independently in good time for the start of flight operations at Fighter Wing 73 at Laage near Rostock," explains Bertram Gorlo, who is responsible in the training sector at EADS Military Aircraft for services such as the training of ground staff.

The re-trained Luftwaffe personnel will now, in turn, take over training at the Air Force School of Engineering No. 1 in Kaufbeuren and additionally support operation of the first Eurofighter at Laage.

EADS is the second largest aerospace and defence company in the world with revenues of € 29.9 billion in the year 2002 and a workforce of more than 100,000. It is a systems integrator and as such is one of the few companies worldwide capable of combining various products and technologies to form complete systems and offering the associated services. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo. EADS has over 70 sites in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and is active in many regions worldwide, amongst them America, Russia and Asia.

Your point of contact:

Military Aircraft
Wolfram Wolff
Tel.: +49-89-607 25711
Fax: +49-89-607 22455
e-mail: wolfram.wolff@m.eads.net