QinetiQ GmbH has successfully delivered a new form of air combat training for the Slovenian Armed Forces, using live ammunition against physical targets, as part of its global Threat Representation offering, the company announced on 20 February 2024.
The 10-day training involved using machine guns on moving targets and provided direct feedback during the mission. The training comprised a sleeve target attached to QinetiQ’s PC-9B aircraft serving as the flying target for the PC-9M light attack aircraft from the Slovenian armed forces’ 152nd Fixed Wing Squadron.
The sleeve used as the target contains a hit counter that provides the Slovenian pilots with immediate feedback detailing the accuracy of their shooting. The training took place out of Andravida Air Force Base in Greece, across its overwater training areas, and also involved the 117th Combat Wing of the Hellenic Air Force.
“I’m proud of the way our aircraft and ground teams worked together to ensure the success of this new training for the Slovenian Armed Forces,” Graham Ollis, managing director of QinetiQ GmbH, was quoted as saying in company press release. “This offers an additional module within our Aerial Training Services, part of our global Threat Representation offering, and will continue to be offered to Slovenia, as well as other international forces.”
“The Slovenian Ministry of Defence was pleased with the success of the training and emphasised that it helped to test the operational capability of the air and ground crews in air combat, and strengthen the co-operation and exchange between air force units in combat missions,” QinetiQ noted.
The company’s Threat Representation services enable customers in more than 50 countries to practise defending themselves in the most realistic environments possible, against an ever-evolving threat landscape.
The Slovenian Armed Forces’ nine Pilatus PC-9M turboprops, which are essentially light attack aircraft, have also been involved in airspace protection since 2017. According to the Slovenian Armed Force website, “Regular joint training of surveillance and control procedures and airspace protection in Slovenian airspace is conducted weekly in the form of interception exercises in Slovenian airspace.”
Because the Slovenian Armed Forces have no fast jets, however, ever since Slovenia joined NATO in 2004 Slovenian airspace has been protected by a NATO air policing operation, which has involved Italian Eurofighters since 2007 and Hungarian Saab Gripens since 2014.
