International Helicopter Exercise ‘THPU’
From 18 till 21 May 2015, the 1st Wing at Beauvechain AB, Belgium, hosted the 2015-edition of the Tactical Helicopter Procedures Update. During this exercise, international helicopter crews updated their procedures and aligned their working methods for future cooperation during combined missions.
The exercise saw various participating crews from the Belgian, Dutch, French, Czech and German Air Force. The Royal Air Force also participated in the exercise, but only as a tactical observer. No RAF helicopters participated.
Big-scale operation
The first two days of the exercise were used for reconnaissance flights within the training areas. On the third day, a major big-scale operation was set up in the area near the town of Marche-en-Famenne, in the Luxemburg province. The target of this operation was to evacuate friendly forces form a hostile area. On the last day, a similar large operation was held in the Zoersel airfield area near Antwerp.