Flying course FC 2024-3 started on Monday, September 16, and will conclude on Friday, October 4, with a 3-week duration.
The total number of personnel who will participate in the TLP in this course is approximately 650 people, with 34 of them graduating, including 22 pilots, 6 intelligence officers and 6 air traffic controllers.
The flights will take place from Monday to Friday in the afternoon, and will start on Monday, September 23rd, since the first week is dedicated to academic activities and flights in the simulator.
The nations participating on the Blue side in this flying course will provide 18 platforms, and will be Spain with Eurofighter aircraft, France with Mirage 2000D and Mirage 2000-5, the United States with F-15E Strike Eagle, and Romania and Turkey with F-16s. As regards the participation of the opposing side (Red Air), there will be a total of 6 aircraft, the participating nations being Spain with Eurofighter, F-18A and F-18M, and the United States with F-15E from the USAF.
As support for the flight course, the Spanish Air and Space Force (EA) Command and Control resources will be present during the execution of the missions.
Also noteworthy is the participation of the remotely piloted aircraft (RPAS) MQ-9 Predator B (NR-05) of the Spanish Air and Space Force, as well as two Belgian instructors specialized in personnel rescue missions, and additional American and national tactical air control teams.
As an anti-aircraft threat, the participation of real air defense systems of the Spanish Army is foreseen, with the MISTRAL and MALLINA systems, as well as other several threat simulation systems of the American company POLYGON, together with the French ARPEGE system, which will be deployed in different locations of the area of operation.
Regarding the intervention of other air assets, a Spanish NH 90 helicopter is expected to participate in specific missions as BLUE AIR, together with its respective extraction teams, and two American SH-60 helicopters on the RED side. A Spanish C-295 tactical transport aircraft will also be involved. In addition, during the flight period, a national SAR helicopter from the will be available from the San Javier Air Base.
Finally, the TLP facilities will continue using the advanced flight simulator (MACE), which allows the pilots to train, not only in the virtual environment, but also to interact with the live aircrafts in real missions through modern communication protocols.