Posts tagged with "English"
Arctic Operations
During our trip to the Dutch marines 'Arctic movement and survival course' in northern Norway last February, we witnessed first-hand how the Royal Dutch Airforce operates in these cold and dangerous conditions. We were supposed to fly out of Bardufoss on the C-130 Hercules from 336 Squadron after moving there by bus from Evenes. The...
IWA 2015
IWA OutdoorClassics - the world-leading fair for Hunting Guns and Outdoor Equipment. That is how they call it, but in recent years the show in Neurenberg, Germany has seen a steady rise in law enforcement and tactical product on display. The rise had been so big that a few years ago the organizers decided to group as much LE and...
French 2013 White Paper on Defence and National Security – air power
The French government released a much delayed white paper on defence and national security on 29 April 2013. The document builds on the previous 2008 White Paper which was issued under the Sarkozy presidency and which led to an extensive reorganisation and modernisation of the French armed forces. Additional, more detailed information...
Scorpion XIV
While writing for the US magazine "The Counter Terrorist", Andrew Balcombe, our Australian friend and regular contributor to Dutch Defence Press, was invited to observe elements of the Polish Special Operations Forces (POLSOF) Scorpion XIV pre-deployment to Afghanistan. Scorpion XIV was the Polish Commando Group (JWK) pre-deployment...
SF Operators prepares for the Full Spectrum of Counterterrorism Challenges
During Easter Dutch Defence Press joined in the United States a group of nineteen Dutch Special Forces (SF) operators from the Korps Commandotroepen (the Netherlands Army Special Forces Regiment) and two Belgium SF operators from the Para-Commando Regiment. It was during their three weeks stay at the Tier One Group training facility in...
Belgium orders Spike and Panzerfaust anti-armour weapons
The Belgian Ministry of Defence has announced that it will purchase 60 Spike multi-purpose guided weapon systems to replace its current inventory of Milan medium-range anti-tank missiles. Under a 41 million contract, the Spike missiles will be supplied by the EuroSpike consortium, which was founded in 2004 when Rheinmetall Defence...
Polish Special Operations Units and the man in charge
On a recent visit to the Polish Special Operations Command (POLSOFCOM) in Krakow, our Australian colleague and contributor Andrew Balcombe met some of the units that conduct SOF operations and interviewed the man in charge, Brigadier General Piotr Patalong. Polish SOFs: Polish Special Operations Forces Command is a relatively new...
First Dutch CH-47Fs delivered, Lynx withdrawn from service
After much delay, the first two CH-47Fs for the Defensie Helikopter Commando (DHC- Defence Helicopter Command) have arrived in the Netherlands. The new medium transport helicopters arrived by ship in the port of Antwerp on August 24th and were then transported by road to the Logistiek Centrum Woensdrecht (LCW – air logistics...
TF50 Hostage Rescue Operation in Afghanistan
On assignment for the American Counter Terrorist magazine, Andrew Balcombe visited the Polish Special Operations Command POLSOCOM in Krakow last summer. His article is republished here with the kind permission of CT Magazine. All images are copyright POLSOCOM. The trip was memorable because the Poles were so open regarding showing...
European Air Transport Training 2012
The first European Air Transport Training (EATT) was held from June 4th until June 15th at Zaragoza Air Base in Spain. Zaragoza provided participating aircrews with formidable training facilities due to the nearby San Gregorio training range. Nearby Ablitas airfield was made available for Tactical Air Landing Operations (TALO)....