Military personnel of the Lithuanian Air Force took part in the international Exercise DART (Disabled Aircraft Recovery Training) organised by the European Air Transport Command (EATC) in Germany.
The two-week long exercise deepened practical skills needed to recover a disabled aircraft stuck on the runway quickly and safely thus rendering airport to operational again. The exercise used realistic and complex scenarios: from aircraft driving off the runway and getting bogged down to flipping over, structural damage or emergency with aircraft and helicopters. Troops used special equipment, planned rescue and recovery, coordinated technical and safety procedures.
Multinational cooperation was in the centre of focus covering such elements as compatibility of Allied forces, procedure standardisation, refining of mutual interaction and learning to share information and resources effectively. That enables to ensure a fast, safe and smooth response in both military and humanitarian operations.
Objective the DART training was to ensure high readiness of crews and ground rescue service, to provide an opportunity to gain practical experience of recovering aircraft from runway, and to encourage exchange of experience and best practices among the Allies. The Training Audience test different team positions and scenarios on rotational basis thus getting hands-on the track of the operation comprehensively.
The Lithuanian Air Force Base ensures that Šiauliai military airfield is operational, conducts Host Nation Support to NATO and EU forces alongside other Lithuanian Armed Forces units, provides command and control to the NATO Air Policing Mission and other air operations conducted from Šiauliai military airfield, as well as search and rescue assistance to any user of the airspace of the Republic of Lithuania.
