The Aviation Magazine No 58 July-August edition of The Aviation Magazine | Page 34

This year's European Air Refuelling Training (EART 2018) took place from 08 to 20 April 2018
at the Dutch Eindhoven Air Base. EART is a multinational exercise that runs in parallel to the
multinational fighter exercise Frisian Flag at the Dutch Leeuwarden AB. With two waves of
about 40 fighter jets a day off Leeuwarden air base, there are plenty of opportunities for both
tanker and fighter crews to train air-to-air refuelling (AAR) in a realistic and multinational en-
vironment. Participants in the EART were tanker aircraft from France (KC-135FR), Germany
(A-310 MRTT), the Netherlands (KDC-10) and the United States (KC-135).
The Aviation Magazine was given the opportunity to be on board the German Air Force A-
310MRTT tanker during an EART mission. During about 90 minutes in the "ESSO" tanker track
off the Danish Coast the A-310MRTT refuelled four German Air Force EF2000 Eurofighter and
three Rafale C of the French Air Force.
The Aviation Magazine thanks Capt De Simone, Public Affairs EATC and his tem for their hos-
pitality and their support.
Objectives of EART
AAR with multinational and different types of aircraft receivers
 Rendezvous procedures
 Plan, brief, execute and debrief, Multinational Tanker Training and Tanker Opera-
tions in large-scale COMAO packages in a realistic scenario
 Practice Tanker-Cell Operations and Tanker to Tanker RV procedures
 Train both Aircrew and Logistics in Quick turnaround execution
 Practice large scale LINK-16 and complex airspace control operations in multina-
tional context
 Tactical Procedures (e.g. authentication, IFF)
 Degraded communication procedures, communications jamming, HAVE QUICK op-
erations
