Dassault Rafale: Qatari mechanics training in Mont-de-Marsan |
| Helen Chachaty |
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05 OCT 2017 | 394 words
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© Le Journal de l'Aviation |
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Rafale training for Qatari personnel is moving ahead at pace at the BA 118 in Mont-de-Marsan. Some of them were already there during the Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly's visit mid-September, demonstrating both Franco-Qatari co-operation and above all the role played by the air force in providing support for exports. This task is made increasingly easy given the huge commitment by staff..
"Here in Mont-de-Marsan, the home of the Rafale, we're in charge of training pilots and mechanics. Obviously, we are very proud of this recognition of the skills of our mechanics, who are seen as references in their field. But it's also a huge challenge, as these same people will be heading out on external missions", says Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel, commander of ESTA 15.30 Chalosse. "They need to be involved in both aspects, and also provide the training in English, but things are going really well all the same."
The first mechanics arrived at the start of 2017 and more mechanics will be arriving later "in a series of waves. By the end of 2018-start 2019, around one hundred members of Qatari air crew will have been trained at Mont-de-Marsan. Around ten Qataris are currently at the maintenance hangars at the base in the Landes region. The avionics, weapons and vector specialists always work in pairs with French staff, who are responsible for all maintenance operations carried out on air force planes. "They are here to be trained and build up their skills. We teach them the techniques and organisational aspects they need to carry out maintenance on a base and during operations", explains Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel. The idea is to "simulate" an operational squadron in parallel to pilot training.
While the first crew members from Qatar are intended to be workshop managers and already have maintenance skills, others will receive training "from the ground up" in France. A programme lasting around three years will take them from the Gironde to the Charente-Maritime regions, before the final stage in the Landes region. Aerocampus Aquitaine has therefore been tasked with training the future Qatari Rafale mechanics in English and in basic maintenance techniques, while BA 721 in Rochefort will be more geared towards the "operational" side in order to prepare the transition to BA 118 and to ensure their skills "mature". This operational support operation, which began in summer 2016, should continue until the end of 2020.
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