[Interview] The European Air Transport Command (EATC): a model to follow? (Laurent Marboeuf)

General Laurent Marboeuf was the head of the air support and projection brigade (BAAP) of the French Air Force. He has been at the helm of the EATC since September 1, 2018.

What is your assessment of EATC?

Member countries are very satisfied. And ourselves, when we see the occupancy rate of the planes, we can be too. Planes returning empty or half loaded have become an exception, although this can sometimes remain justified by the nature of the mission, for example for medical evacuation missions. Furthermore, the main principles of the beginning, established during the founding of EATC, remain valid, such as maintaining the sovereignty of the Member States with the presence of an SNR [Senior National Representative] who can assert national constraints, the flexibility and the ability to regain operational control of an aircraft at any time.

You have grown to seven members today with Italy and Spain. What does this change?

This is a major development, with a broader spectrum. With Italy and Spain, we have respectively 35 and 24 additional officers or non-commissioned officers out of the 200 in the EATC. We have the availability of aircraft that we didn't have before, like the KC 767, the C-130J Super Hercules and the C-27J Spartan. With Spain, these are Casa C-295s, which provide additional hold capacity compared to the Casa C-235s. Finally, we have expanded the number of overflight authorizations.

Do overflight authorizations remain a difficulty?

Yes. What we call in our jargon the 'diplomatic clearances' are one of the main difficulties in organizing an international flight. It sometimes takes several weeks, or even much longer, to obtain authorization. Having other countries on board allows us to choose the most suitable plane which makes these procedures easier for us. Certain nations have historical facilities, bilateral agreements or privileged relations with certain countries. Editor's note: EATC operates mainly in three theaters of operation: the Middle East, Afghanistan, Africa, which involves flying over very different and sensitive countries.

Having such different planes, isn't that too complicated?

There are pros and cons. On the advantage side, we have a wider range of aircraft. We can thus choose the most appropriate means. The disadvantage is more in terms of interoperability. When a plane is broken down or unavailable, we have more difficulty replacing it. An interoperable capability also makes it possible to engage together in the theater of operations. This makes it possible to optimize the use of the devices, for example for in-flight refueling. It is a constant challenge at the logistical and regulatory level. THE ultimate of integration will be the common fleet of C-130J aircraft. A real novelty, with German and French pilots on the same aircraft, from the same base [Editor's note: in Évreux].

The new European A400M transport aircraft is arriving in fleets, is this also a small revolution?

It is the backbone of the EATC fleet of the future. With current acquisition plans, we will have around a hundred aircraft available by 2025 and more after that. We have already increased flight hours by 40% between 2017 and 2018, with 46 aircraft. We should have 11 more aircraft this year and 11 next year. This is a significant pace of implementation. This will not only allow us to double the transport capacity, but we will also gain on the available capacity. Such a plane can take off in the morning for a mission in Africa for example, return late at night and leave the next day – if the pallets are available – with a new crew. In addition, we will have an in-flight refueling capacity, a sector in which we have a significant deficit and where we still depend on the Americans today.

Is this a serious gap that is about to be filled?

Yes. With the arrival of the A400M and multi-role A330 (MRTT), we will triple the number of aircraft available or equipped. Not to mention the quantity of fuel available: the Airbus A330 has a greater capacity than the Boeing KC767 and the KC135. We are investing a lot today in in-flight refueling, harmonization of procedures and training (1). We engage in agreements to support the Multinational Refueling Unit (MMU) based in Cologne and Eindhoven. Made up of five - six countries (Germany, Benelux, Norway), this unit will ultimately have eight aircraft and will be under the operational control of the EATC (2).

In this unit there is Norway, a non-EATC member. How will this happen?

We apply the principle of sponsorship. This allows a non-EATC country to be supported by a member country to enter the EATC service (3).

Listening to you, is Europe on the verge of catching up?

We are indeed witnessing an extremely profound transformation of military transport and in-flight refueling with the renewal of fleets. A shift from strong dependence on our Atlantic allies andoutsourcing to greater autonomy of action. These new capabilities are a real change in range. It is enough to compare the operating autonomy of an A400M, 8 hours at Mach 0,7 with 35 tonnes, to the approximately 15 tonnes transported by a Transall at Mach 0,3 maximum. A range of action that allows you to go to Niamey non-stop, fully loaded, whereas previously it took two or three stages and three days to reach the heart of Africa (4). This will allow us to be at the heart of operations, more quickly. We are reaching a milestone. You have to prepare for it. Because this implies military and strategic changes: the Europeans will tomorrow have the operational means, with greater responsiveness. Which allows political ambition to evolve.

For EATC, this change also means new developments?

The challenge in the future will no longer be to compensate for limited capacities, but to optimize this new fleet. A major project is to create a military air network to EATC destination areas. The equivalent of a 'Air Transport Network', a point-to-point network, with regular flights to the most common destinations. This allows for logistical efficiency. Every 'customer' (and there are several per nation) will know that they can count on it: planned and guaranteed flights. We identified 66 regular destinations today. In the next two to four years, as soon as we have enough A400Ms, we will be able to guarantee resupply and support in theaters of operation and exercises. This optimization is a big challenge. We move from a system of flights and following the best practices to regular flights. For this, we made an aggregate of these lines. This first step has been completed, but it remains fragile due to the number of planes available. It therefore operates in tight flow. The second step is to move to a flight guarantee system. This will be done by 2020-2021. The process is ongoing.

(Comments collected by Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

1. Editor’s note: notably the EART European Air Refueling Training
2. An agreement was signed on cooperation and joint optimization on April 16 (read here)
3. Concretely, Norway's flight hours will be included in the Netherlands' package and the same service will be provided for these planes.
4. Editor's note: by bypassing Algeria and Libya which do not always authorize military flights, or which certain countries are reluctant to fly over.

   

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A little-known aspect of EATC, medial evacuations

1100 evacuations were managed by the EATC. France is the largest 'client' with two thirds of flights per year for its benefit. A necessity, while the French VIP Falcon fleet is already in high demand. There are cases where the medical staff is from another nation. But it's quite rare. We are in fact in a very specific framework which is not only technical or aeronautical, but medical. There are notions of care and responsibility which vary depending on the country.

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Interview conducted by telephone, May 2019