REITERALPE, Germany - From June 24-28, German Mountain Infantry Brigade 23 hosted the fifth edition of the multinational Close Air Support (CAS) exercise Mountain Hornet in the southeast of Germany.
Mountain troops, object protection forces and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) were engaged in simulated combat on Reiteralpe near Berchtesgaden during exercise Mountain Hornet, training Alliance defence in alpine terrain together with international forces.
Exercise Mountain Hornet is an annual multinational CAS exercise taking place at Germany's only alpine training area Reiteralpe. Almost 300 participants from eight Allied and Partner Nations (Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, the United States and Austria) came together to train CAS tactics, techniques and procedures to NATO standards. The Air Force Liaison Command from Bad Reichenhall coordinated members from ground and air force units as well as fighters, helicopters and civilian contractor aircraft during the alpine Air-Land Integration training.
Exercise Mountain Hornet at Germany's alpine training area Reiteralpe. Photo by Fischer Sven
Mountain troops, object protection forces and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) were engaged in simulated combat missions. Photo by Germaine Nassal
German Eurofighters prepare to provide Close Air Support over Reiteralpe mountain range during exercise Mountain Hornet. Photo by Germaine Nassal
Air force units as well as fighters, helicopters and civilian contractor aircraft participated during the alpine Air-Land Integration training. Photo by Fischer Sven
The fictitious scenario for the exercise envisaged enemy forces crossing the German border and launching an attack. Friendly forces prepared for warding off the attack in the Alps. Mountain infantry, force protection and JTACs grouped into Joint Fire Support Teams, while climbing up to Reiteralpe, drew enemy fire, prepared their defensive positions and pushed back the enemy.
The ground troops immediately took cover and began defensive action establishing positions and a helicopter landing site for resupply operations in a combat environment which required constant all-round surveillance. During the scenario, the enemy forces launched attacks to re-take Reiteralpe and the defending forces conducted a fire fight. They called for CAS which was provided by Eurofighters and coordinated by the JTACs who ensure liaison between air crew and ground troops.
In addition to the special air-to-ground weapons, the Eurofighters carried laser pods that can precisely detect targets using the coordinates that the JTAC communicated to the jet pilots. For the aircrew the approach to Reiteralpe was challenging and they had to carefully plan their flight in mountainous terrain through valleys and over peaks in order to reach the target quickly and undetected. Updated with final approach information from the JTACs via radio, the aircrew were aware of the positions of friendly and enemy forces and proceeded to engage targets efficiently.
Exercise Mountain Hornet allowed international JTACs to cooperate during CAS scenarios with German aircrews under challenging conditions in mountainous terrain. Participants enhanced interoperability working to common tactics, techniques and procedures for Joint Fire Support at the tactical level.