Executive Transport Wing (German Air Force)

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Executive Transport Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence
Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung
Active1 April 1957 – present
(67 years)
Country Germany
BranchBundeswehrkreuz (Iron Cross) German Air Force
RoleAir Transport
Part ofAir Force Command
(Luftwaffentruppenkommando)
Garrison/HQCologne Bonn Airport, Berlin Tegel Airport
Aircraft flown
TransportFormerly: Boeing 707, Tu-154, VFW-Fokker 614, HFB 320 Hansa Jet, L-410, Mi-8, Airbus A310
Present: Airbus A350, Airbus A340, Airbus A321, Airbus A319, Eurocopter AS 532,

The Executive Transport Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence (German: Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung, abb.: FlBschftBMVg or FBS BMVg, literally translated as Flight Readiness [Service] of the Federal Ministry of Defence) is a flying formation of the German Air Force with a wide variety of tasks. Occasionally it is ambiguously listed as the Special Air Missions Wing in English language articles. The wing is based at Cologne Bonn Airport with Berlin Tegel Airport used as a location for its helicopters. It is planned to bring the two operating locations together at Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

History[edit]

The Flugbereitschaft was formed On April 1, 1957, at the Nörvenich Air Base as a small unit providing liaison flights to the Defence Ministry. In July 1959 it relocated to Cologne Bonn Airport and reformed as the 3. Squadron of the Air Force's Transport Wing 62 (3./LTG-62). In April 1963 it became an independent unit with its status raised from a squadron to a group. In 1974 its status was upgraded to a full wing (Geschwader).

As a legacy from the Second World War the role of the German military was a very sensitive topic and the Bundeswehr was constituted as a strictly defensive force within the borders of West Germany. Correspondingly the Flugbereitschaft was limited to providing government transport to federal government of defence ministry officials. With the end of the Cold War, the German reunification and the country's increased involvement in peacekeeping and humanitarian aid missions overseas at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries came a need for air-to-air refueling and long range transport aircraft. With the addition of Airbus A310 MRTT to the Flugbereitschaft an informal distinction was introduced for its aircraft. The government transport aircraft are called the "white fleet" (die weiße Flotte), painted in white with a thin black-red-gold stripe and a Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany) inscription. The military transport and tanker aircraft are called the "grey fleet" (die graue Flotte), painted in grey with a Luftwaffe (German Air Force) inscription. The helicopters make an exception of this rule, sporting the retro look of the white fleet, with two tones of blue stripes on a white body and a Luftwaffe inscription. The grey fleet is subordinated to the European Air Transport Command.

West Germany had its capital in Bonn, while East Germany's capital was Berlin. With the reunification it was decided that Berlin will be the sole capital city of the country. As the institutions of the united Germany were based on the West-German ones in Bonn and could not be moved in short time, the Flugbereitschaft played an important role executing shuttle flights (Pendelflüge) for federal government officials and parliamentarians between the two cities. Additionally the wing keeps a VIP aircraft in flight readiness in Berlin detached to from its MOB at Cologne Bonn IAP. The German government and Federal Ministry of Defence plan to consolidate the wing at Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

On 15 June 2022, the wing retired its last Airbus A310 MRTT.[1] The retirement was scheduled at the end of February 2022, but the aircraft was kept in service due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2]

Mission[edit]

The Flugbereitschaft carries out missions in the following areas:[3]

  • Air Transport:
    • transport of Bundeswehr personnel and materiel
    • VIP transport of government officials, members of parliament and high-ranking Bundeswehr officers
    • humanitarian aid and disaster relief flights, evacuation of civilians
    • MedEvac flights
  • Air-to-Air Refueling:
    • formation and training of tanker air crews, operational refueling flights in support of Luftwaffe and allied fighter jets
    • strategic deployment of Bundeswehr and allied forces for exercises and operations
    • participation in international NATO-led exercises
  • Passenger and Cargo Handling, Logistic Support
    • passenger control and preparation
    • cargo handling for own, allied and civilian-chartered aircraft, supply of Bundeswehr forces overseas
    • ground support of German and allied aircraft
  • Maintenance and Overhaul:
    • technical maintenance and overhaul of the Einsatzbereitschaft's fleet
    • training and skill development of flight and ground personnel
  • Host Nation Support:
    • transport of foreign dignitaries and high-ranking officials on official state visits to Germany
    • ground support of foreign official state aircraft of visiting official delegations
    • ground support for foreign delegations at Cologne Bonn Airport and Berlin Tegel Airport

Organisation[edit]

The Flugbereitschaft operates a diverse fleet of aircraft. Its main operating base is the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport with Berlin Tegel Airport used as a secondary location for its helicopters.[4] Beginning on October 21, 2020, two years after completion and two weeks after a successful dress rehearsal, political-parliamentary flight operations officially began at the new government interim terminal at the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. The facility can handle up to 25 official flights per day. However, it is only a temporary terminal. The final terminal is due to be built in 2034, so that the unit's entire fleet of aircraft can move from Cologne-Wahn airport. Cougar helicopters will remain on the former Tegel airfield until 2029 due to lack of space.[5]

Clear visual distinction between the white and the grey fleet.
  • Retired Airbus A310 MRTT nr. 10+25 of the grey fleet.
    Retired Airbus A310 MRTT nr. 10+25 of the grey fleet.
  • Airbus A340 nr. 16+02 of the white fleet.
    Airbus A340 nr. 16+02 of the white fleet.
  • Eurocopter AS 532U2 nr. 82+01 of the white fleet.
    Eurocopter AS 532U2 nr. 82+01 of the white fleet.

Executive Transport Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence (Flugbereitschaft des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung) (Cologne Bonn Airport)

  • Wing Headquarters
  • Flight Group (Fliegende Gruppe)
  • Technical Group (Technische Gruppe)
    • Technical Group Headquarters
    • 1st Technical Squadron (1. Technische Staffel) (maintains Airbus A310)
    • 2nd Technical Squadron (2. Technische Staffel) (maintains Airbus A319CJ, A321, A340-313X and Bombardier G5000)
    • Airfield Squadron (Flugplatzstaffel)

Due to the geographical detachment of the 3. Air Transport Squadron from the wing's main operating location at Cologne Bonn IAP and due to the specifics of its helicopter operations, the squadron is an integrated unit, which also includes ground technical personnel in addition to its air crews.

Aircraft[edit]

Current Fleet[edit]

Picture Type Service Period Serials and Names Role Notes
Military Transport Airplanes (1st Air Transport Squadron)
Airbus A321LR 2022–present[6] 15+10 Medical evacuation
2022–present[7] 15+11
Executive Transport Airplanes (2nd Air Transport Squadron)
Airbus A350 2022–present 10+01 "Konrad Adenauer" Long range governmental air transport Airbus A350-941
2023–present 10+02 "Theodor Heuss" Airbus A350-941
2021–present 10+03 "Kurt Schumacher" Airbus A350-941
Airbus A321 2018–present 15+04 Medium range governmental air transport
Aeromedical evacuation 		Airbus A321-231
ex. "Neustadt an der Weinstraße" D-AISE of Lufthansa
Airbus A319CJ 2010–present 15+01 Medium range governmental air transport Airbus A319-133X CJ
2010–present 15+02 Airbus A319-133X CJ
2019–present 15+03 Open Skies Airbus A319-133X CJ
ex. VP-CVX of Volkswagen Air Service
Bombardier Global Express 5000/6000 2011–present 14+02 Medium range governmental air transport
Short range governmental air transport
2011–present 14+03
2011–present 14+04
2019–present 14+05
2019–present 14+06
2019–present 14+07
Executive Transport Helicopters (3rd Air Transport Squadron)
Eurocopter AS532U2 Cougar 1997–present 82+01 Berlin area governmental air transport
1997–present 82+02
1998–present 82+03

Retired Fleet[edit]

Picture Type Service Period Quantity Serials Notes
Airplanes
De Havilland DH.114 Heron 2D 1957–1963 2 CA+001, CA+002
Piaggio P.149 1957–1969 ?
Percival Pembroke C54 1958–1968 ?
Dornier Do 27 1958–1979 ?
Convair CV-340 1959–1974 5 12+01 - 12+05 Originally CA+031 - CA+035.
Convair CV-440 1959–1974 1 12+06 Originally CA+036.
Dornier Do 28A-1 1961–1968 1 CA+041
Douglas DC-6 1962–1969 4 13+01 - 13+04 Originally first two a/c numbered CA+034 and CA+035, later renumbered CA+021 and CA+022. Third and fourth a/c numbered CA+023, CA+024.
Lockheed JetStar C-140A/B 1963–1986 3 (+1) 11+01 - 11+03 Originally CA+101 - CA+103. Fourth a/c acquired in 1968 as attrition replacement for CA-102 and numbered 11+02.
Boeing B707-307C 1968–1999 4 10+01 - 10+04
HFB 320M Hansa Jet 1969–1988 8 16+01 - 16+08
Dornier Do 28D-1 1971–1988 4 59+01 - 59+04
VFW 614 1977–1998 3 17+01 - 17+03
Bombardier Challenger 601 1986–2011 7 12+01 - 12+07
Tupolev Tu-154M 1991–1999 2 11+01 - 11+02 ex-East-German Air Force VIP aircraft.
Ilyushin Il-62 1991–1993 3 11+20 - 11+22 ex-East-German Air Force VIP aircraft.
Let L-410 1991–2000 4 53+09 - 53+12 ex-East-German Air Force VIP aircraft.
Airbus A310 MRT 1991–2021 1 10+23 "Kurt Schumacher",[8] formerly Airbus A310-304 DDR-ABC, later D-AOAC of Interflug
Airbus A310 1993–2013 2 10+21 - 10+22 ex-East-German government aircraft.
Airbus A310 MRTT 2007–2021 4 10+24 "Otto Lilienthal",[8] formerly Airbus A310-304 D-AIDA of Lufthansa
1999–2022 10+25 "Hermann Köhl",[8] formerly Airbus A310-304 D-AIDB of Lufthansa
2001–2021 10+26 "Hans Grade",[8] formerly Airbus A310-304 "Speyer" D-AIDE of Lufthansa
10+27 "August Euler",[8] formerly Airbus A310-304 "Fellbach" D-AIDI of Lufthansa
Airbus A340 2011–2023[9] 2 16+01 Airbus A340-313X VIP, "Konrad Adenauer"
previously "Leipzig" D-AIGR of Lufthansa
16+02 Airbus A340-313X VIP, "Theodor Heuss"
previously "Gummersbach" D-AIFB of Lufthansa
Bombardier Global Express 5000 2011–2019 1 14+01 Crashed on 16 April 2019 at Berlin Schönefeld Airport and was not returned to service. An investigation found improper maintenance by Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services [de] to be the cause.[10][11]
Helicopters
Bristol Sycamore 1958–1959 2 CA+327 - CA+328
H-34G Choctaw 1959–1972 2
Bell UH-1D 1968–2000 4
Mil Mi-8S 1993–1997 6 93+51 - 93+56 ex-East-German Air Force VIP aircraft.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Luftwaffe: Letzter Airbus A310 ausgemustert". www.flugrevue.de (in German). 15 June 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ @Team_Luftwaffe (11 April 2022). "Die ursprünglich für Ende Februar geplante Außerdienststellung des letzten verbliebenen A310 MedEvac wurde aufgrund der russischen Invasion verschoben" (Tweet) (in German) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Luftwaffe".
  4. ^ "Luftwaffe : Flugbereitschaft – die Flugzeuge". 6 December 2018.
  5. ^ "BER – das neue Flugziel der Flugbereitschaft des BMVg". Bundeswehr. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ^ Zwerger, Patrick (23 June 2022). "Erste A321LR für die Luftwaffe: Ein Hauch von 'Military Business Class'". Flug Revue (in German). Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  7. ^ KS (14 August 2022). "Übernahme durch das BAAINBw in Hamburg: Zweite A321LR für die Luftwaffe". Flug Revue (in German). Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Der Airbus A310". www.bundeswehr.de (in German). Bundeswehr. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  9. ^ Daniel Martínez Garbuno (6 December 2023). "Germany Will Put Its "Merkel One" Airbus A340 Up For Sale In January". simplefyling.com. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  10. ^ Gebauer, Matthias (25 November 2019). "Flugbereitschaft: Fehler von Lufthansa-Technikern lösten Unfallflug aus". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Lufthansa: Ursache für Beinahe-Crash von Regierungsflieger steht fest". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). dpa. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
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