Airforce

Binational Air Transport Squadron Rhin/Rhein in Évreux

Ten aircraft, two nations, one unit: there has never been anything like this in Europe. The new squadron started its service on 9 March 2022.

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Mission

The mission of the binational squadron focuses on:

  • joint air transport across the entire logistical and tactical spectrum
  • support for special forces operations
  • mutual support in the event of a crisis and in the conduct of national missions

The German-French Air Transport Squadron carries out tactical air transport missions at airfields or unpaved landing zones with greatly reduced infrastructure. It thus closes the capability gap in tactical air transport identified by a 2016 study report that had analyzed the impacts resulting from the decommissioning of the C-160 Transall in 2021. Nevertheless, the Super Hercules is not a direct successor to the C-160 Transall. The binational Air Transport Squadron Rhein/Rhin is tasked with carrying out missions within the framework of national crisis management to protect German nationals abroad and support special operations.

It is also able to refuel other aircraft, including helicopters, in the air with the KC-130J aircraft of its fleet. Global tactical air transport is coordinated by the European Air Transport Command.

Ten aircraft, two nations, one team: there has never been anything like this in Europe. On 9 March 2022, the first German-French Air Transport Squadron officially started its service in Évreux in Normandy. At present, its fleet comprises four French C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, two of them in the tanker version, and one German C-130J. By 2024, the fleet will be complete with an additional five German aircraft. The unit will then include a total of around 300 soldiers from both nations.

What is special about this unit is the level of integration: for the very first time, French and German pilots, mechanics, avionics specialists and technical loadmasters live, train and work together in the same place. Binational crews fly the missions and binational teams maintain the French and German aircraft on the ground.

The new binational squadron is a milestone for further cooperation between the German Air Force and the French Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace. Here, both sides benefit from each other’s existing experience. In order to realize this unique level of cooperation, uniform basic documents were prepared, for example for joint flight and maintenance operations. These can be used as a blueprint for further cooperation in Europe.

Base Aérienne 105 Évreux-Fauville (BA 105Base aérienne 105 Évreux-Fauville) is a military airfield of the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace). The airfield is located in the Eure department in Normandy on the territory of three municipalities – Fauville, Gauciel and Huest – about five kilometers east of the town of Évreux.

BA 105Base aérienne 105 Évreux-Fauville was named after Major (Commandant) Jules Louis Viot, a French pilot who was killed during an aerial engagement in French Indochina in 1947.

The air base is home to several different wings and squadrons:

  • 64e escadre de transport
  • L'escadre aérienne de commandement et de conduite projetable
  • Le groupe aérien mixte 56 „Vaucluse“
  • La 62e escadre „Franche-Comté“
  • Escadron électronique aéroporté 1/54 „Dunkerque“

In future, the fleet of the German-French Air Transport Squadron will consist of ten Lockheed Martin Super Hercules aircraft:

  • 5 C-130J-30 aircraft
  • 5 KC-130J aircraft (tanker version)

France provides two C-130J-30 and two KC-130J aircraft.

Germany provides three C-130J-30 and three KC-130J aircraft.

The C-130J-30 is the stretched-body version of the C-130J. The KC-130J aircraft are intended for air-to-air refueling, in particular for the refueling of helicopters.

The four French aircraft were delivered between January 2018 and February 2020 and were based at Orléans-Bricy until the squadron was established.

The first German Super Hercules was handed over on 19 February 2022. Two more will follow in 2022. By the end of 2024, the fleet will be complete with a total of ten aircraft.

The aircraft with the serial number 5930 and the military tail number 55+01 is the first Super Hercules of the German Air Force. It is one of six aircraft that Lockheed Martin is building for the Bundeswehr in Marietta, Georgia. Three of them will be delivered as KC-130J tanker aircraft. The other three, like this first one here, are transport aircraft in the C-130J-30 version, which is almost five meters longer.

The First German Super Hercules

  • A curved metal structure stands in a production hall.

    At the beginning of January 2021, not much can be seen of Germany’s first C-130J. Here, the upper part of the future cockpit is being built.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • The shell of the cockpit from the inside.

    This is what the cockpit looks like in late February 2021. The interior is still missing.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • Disconnected wires can be seen in the open fuselage of the C-130J.

    March 17, 2021: The two fuselage components of the C-130J can soon be connected. Numerous cables and pipes still require connections.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • The rear fuselage of the C-130J with horizontal and vertical stabilizer in a Lockheed Martin production hall.

    By March 22nd 2021 the tail of the C-130J is finished. Now the rear fuselage can be connected to front components.

    Lockheed Martin
  • The front part of the fuselage without the nose is situated in an assembly hangar.

    The front fuselage is ready. The machine is taking shape.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • Five Lockheed Martin employees are in the process of hooking up one of the C-130J's engines.

    April 21, 2021: The four engines with the six-bladed propellers are now hooked up and connected one by one.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • Five employees lift one of the leading edges of the aircraft into place.

    June 2, 2021: The engines are in place. Now the leading edges are mounted onto the wings. At the same time, the antennas are installed.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • The C-130J gets its nose.

    At the end of June, production of the first German Super Hercules is well advanced. Now the aircraft gets its nose, which covers a weather radar installation.

    Lockheed Martin/Mandie Mills
  • The still unpainted C-130J with serial number 5930 is towed to the production area in Marietta.

    The aircraft is fully assembled. Now, the classic air force paint is still missing. In mid-July 2021, the machine rolls to the paint shop for the first time.

    Lockheed Martin/Mandie Mills
  • Through a gap in the opening doors of the paint shop, you can already catch a glimpse of the German C-130J.

    August 17, 2021: Opening the gates for the first freshly painted German C-130J with the registration 55+01.

    Lockheed Martin/Mandie Mills
  • A C-130J, painted in the distinct air force gray with a German flag, is pulled out of a hangar.

    The C-130J-30 is 34.37 meters long, 11.84 meters high and has a wingspan of 40.41 meters. It reaches a speed of 675 kilometers per hour and has a range of 4,000 kilometers.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • A C-130J is on the ground with its engines running.

    Before the Super Hercules is allowed to take off for the first time, all functions and settings are thoroughly checked, including test runs of all engines.

    Lockheed Martin/David L. Key
  • A C-130J takes off.

    On November 8th 2021, the C-130J takes off for the first time from Georgia.

    Lockheed Martin/Thinh D. Nguyen
  • The German C-130J with the registration 55+01 in the air

    This maiden flight was followed by further tests and flights before the C-130J was handed over to the Bundeswehr in February 2022.

    Lockheed Martin/Thinh D. Nguyen

Leadership

  • Lieutenant Colonel Franck

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace

    Lieutenant Colonel Franck

    Lieutenant Colonel Franck has been the Squadron Commander of the German-French C-130J Air Transport Squadron in Évreux since April 2021.
    Lieutenant Colonel Franck was born in Corbeil-Essonnes in 1982. He is married and has two children.

  • Lieutenant Colonel Maik Drescher

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt

    Lieutenant Colonel Maik Drescher

    Lieutenant Colonel Drescher has been the Deputy Squadron Commander of the German-French C-130J Air Transport Squadron in Évreux since April 2021. He also leads the German squadron component.
    Maik Drescher is from Halle an der Saale. He is married and has two children.

Impressions Evreux

  • In the foreground, the fin of the German C-130J can be seen; in the sky above, a French C-130J.

    In Évreux, it is no longer only the staff that is binational. As the first German C-130J has arrived, it will soon be possible to fly missions with aircraft from both nations.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • Defense Ministers Lambrecht and Parly at the activation of the binational squadron in Évreux.

    Named after the Rhine: On 9 March 2022, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and her French counterpart Florence Parly officially activated the German-French Air Transport Squadron and gave it the name ‘Rhin/Rhein’.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • A C-130J stands on the airfield of Base Aérienne 105.

    Arriving at its new home: The first German C-130J on its ‘parking lot’ at Base Aérienne 105. When certification has been completed and all checks have been done, it will be ready for its mission.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • View into the cockpit of the first German C-130J.

    This is what the first German C-130J looks like from the inside: The pilots’ workplace …

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • View into the cargo hold of the first German C-130J.

    … and the cargo hold, the work area of the loadmasters.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • The German C-130J bearing the Iron Cross, the German flag and the lettering ‘Luftwaffe’.

    This is how the German C-130J looks after ‘make-up removal’. All national emblems are visible again.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • Three soldiers stand on a lift truck and clean the lettering ‘LUFTWAFFE’ on the fuselage of the C-130J with rags.

    The black ‘coating’ has been removed, and now the lettering ‘LUFTWAFFE’ is once again visible on the fuselage of the first German C-130J. Using solvents, rags and muscle power, German and French soldiers have made the national emblems visible again.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • The first German C-130J in Évreux. The lettering ‘Luftwaffe’ is still covered in black.

    For the ferry flight from Marietta to Évreux, the German emblems on the aircraft were temporarily covered in black. This was done because the USUnited States Air Force carried out this flight.

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace/Maxence Bonnot
  • A C-130J taxies on the runway. Water jets can be seen above it. A rainbow is formed by the sun.

    On 19 February 2022, the first C-130J of the Bundeswehr landed at its new home, Base Aérienne 105 in Évreux, Normandy. It received the traditional welcome with a water cannon salute.

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace/Maxence Bonnot
  • A French and a German soldier jointly holding a handover certificate up to the camera.

    Squadron Commander Lieutenant Colonel Franck and Deputy Squadron Commander Lieutenant Colonel Maik Drescher receive the certificate symbolizing the handover of the first German C-130J.

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace/Maxence Bonnot
  • A round patch showing a C-130J in front of a black, red and gold outline of Germany.

    The patch of the American pilot who ferried the first German C-130J to Évreux.

    Bundeswehr/Birte Chilcott
  • The headquarters building of the German-French Air Transport Squadron at Base Aérienne 105 in Évreux.

    This building at BA 105Base aérienne 105 Évreux-Fauville serves as headquarters of the German-French Air Transport Squadron. It is directly connected to the hangar complex.

    Bundeswehr/Jane Schmidt
  • The hangar complex in the glow of the evening sun. The parking area in front of the three closed gates is still empty.

    The hangar’s three bays and the parking area for the future C-130J-fleet. A total of ten aircraft can be accommodated here, three in the bays and seven outside.

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace/Défense/Céline Ramelot
  • Aerial photograph of the squadron site with its hangar complex, buildings and parking areas.

    Aerial photograph of the squadron site with the aircraft parking area, the hangar complex, the headquarters building and the vehicle parking area. On the right edge of the picture, the future simulator center for training can be seen.

    Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace/Défense/Stéphanie Reboul
  • A German pilot and a French co-pilot sit in the cockpit, smile at the camera and give the thumbs up.

    Flying, living and working together. Due to the full integration of all personnel, the new German-French squadron in Évreux has become something very special.

    Armée de l'air et de l'Espace/Défense/Olivier Fortin
  • Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Florence Parly stand by a small wall where they laid the foundation stone.

    On 17 September 2020, the then German Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and her French counterpart Florence Parly laid the foundation stone for the German-French air base at Base Aérienne 105.

    Bundeswehr/Andrea Bienert

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