Personnel from the Belgian Air Force have been training at No. XXIV Squadron (No. 24 Squadron), based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.
Ahead of Belgium receiving their own Airbus A400M later this year, a Pilot and Loadmaster from the Belgian Air Force have been undergoing intense theory and practical training at No. XXIV Squadron for 15 months.
“Having the opportunity to operate within No. XXIV Squadron as a Pilot and an Instructor has helped me gain experience on the A400M a lot faster. Operating as a Flight Simulator Instructor aids in knowing the aircraft and its procedures far better than I could have learned on a course. On top of theoretical training, crew members need real life experience, being deployed with a crew and handling situations which cannot be trained on the ground. That is what the RAF provides my colleague and I. We can use this unique opportunity to share this experience with our Belgian colleagues who come here once every three weeks to be trained on the simulators in order to be prepared for the arrival of the first Belgian airframes mid-2020. We couldn’t have hoped for a better way to gain this experience, as our RAF colleagues are always willing to help us.”
Senior Captain Jonas Van Hellemont
Belgian Air Force Pilot
Number XXIV Squadron is the RAF’s Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU), the AM OCU is responsible for the management and delivery of first-class training with state-of-the-art facilities to Aircrew and Engineers for the A400M Atlas and C-130J Hercules, Engineers for the C-17 Globemaster III and AM Force Flying Instructors.
“Senior Captain Van Hellemont and Flight Sergeant Flipkens are fully integrated members of XXIV Squadron, and it’s fantastic to have them working within the Atlas Flight team. We have a huge responsibility to grow and shape the future UK A400M Force, both in training new and current crews but also in developing and introducing new capabilities and working out how best to teach everyone to use them. Having the perspective of an A400M partner nation is invaluable and we really hope that the links being forged right now will endure well into the future.”
Wing Commander Andy McIntyre
Officer Commanding No. XXIV Squadron
