Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing Supports a US – Hungarian Airfield Seizure Exercise in Pápa
Szöveg: honvedelem.hu / heavyairliftwing.org | 2015. március 3. 9:00Between 22 February and 3 March several locations in Western Hungary act as venues for Warlord Rock 2015, a joint exercise involving the militaries of Hungary and the United States. As a part of the event, HDF Pápa Air Base hosted an airfield seizure exercise on 26 February with a Strategic Airlift Capability C-17 aircraft participating in the airlift support of the joint operations of the two SAC nations.
US and Hungarian paratroopers exit a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III of the Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing over Pápa Air Base during Airfield Seizure Exercise as dusk is turning to darkness on 26 February 2015. Photo: HAW / Juha Vehokari
The objective of the Warlord Rock 2015 is to allow US and Hungarian fighting, combat support and combat service support forces to prepare in allied cooperation for planning, organizing and the execution of airdrop operations. In total 750 troops of different units from both nations participate in the event.
During the evening of February 26 the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing supported the airfield seizure exercise of the two SAC member nations’ armed forces taking place at the Wing’s home base, the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) Pápa Air Base.
A Joint Terminal Attack Controller of the US Army 173rd Airborne Brigade is measuring wind speed with a handheld meter before the airdrop of the US and Hungarian paratroopers during the 26 February airfield seizure exercise at Pápa Air Base. Photo: HAW / Ville Tuokko
The airfield seizure exercise commenced on the dusk hours of 26 February with one Boeing C-17 Globemaster III of the Strategic Airlift Capability and two Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the United States Air Force delivering a total of 350 Hungarian and US paratroopers and equipment from Aviano Air Base, Italy to Pápa Air Base, Hungary.
The units participating in Warlord Rock 2015 are the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the United States Army, the 24th “Bornemissza Gergely" Reconnaissance Battalion, the 62nd infantry battalion, the 5th “Bocskai István" Infantry Brigade, the HDF 25/88 Airmobile Battalion and the 34th “Bercsényi László" Special Operations Forces Battalion of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
Equipment bundles released by a United States Air Force C-130 transport aircraft are about to touch down at the temporary drop zone established at Pápa Air Base during the airfield seizure exercise. Photo: HAW / Ville Tuokko
The Strategic Airlift Capability Heavy Airlift Wing has supported the training and exercise activities of the US Army and the Hungarian Defence Forces with numerous airdrop missions ever since the start of its flight operations in 2009.
The February 26 exercise was the first occasion when the airdrops take place as part of a combined airfield seizure operation of different airlift assets and ground troops in the Strategic Airlift Capability host nation Hungary.
