“Train as we fight, fight as we train”
February 2012
One of the first French pilots to deploy over Libya last year emphasises better TTPs,
and joint training to prepare for other unexpected operations.
At the recent AEW 2012 conference, Defence IQ caught up with Lieutenant
Stephane Aldaye, one of the French Navy’s E-2 officers at Flotille 4F, which saw
military and industry gather to discuss new experiences and new technologies in
what was the 11th annual meeting of this close-knit international community. At the
last event, the troubles in Libya had been merely bubbling beneath the surface, with
civil protests breaking out that same month.
Operating Europe’s only carrier-capable AEW&C force, Flottille 4F had eventually
been called upon to deploy two Hawkeyes from the French aircraft carrier FS
Charles-de-Gaulle between March and August. As Unified Operator began, it would
prove to serve as an invaluable educational tool for future campaigns.
“The operations we did last year… we weren’t really prepared for that, because such
scenarios have not happened before,” confessed Aldaye.
“I think the key lesson I had from that is that we need to train much more, we need to
know the aircraft perfectly, to establish procedures with which we can have the
flexibility to carry out any mission.”
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With the shift in the past few years towards COIN warfare, and fresh rumblings of
instability across the Middle East, Far East and Africa, to name just a few, it is difficult
for operators to be expected to train for other engagements and scenarios that may
never have been experienced before. Difficult, but not impossible.
“Of course we can’t predict the future conflict accurately, but I think any new
operation is new for everyone involved. Afghanistan was that, Iraq was that, and
Libya was certainly the same situation. What I mean here is that if you have the
perfect knowledge of how everybody works, at the basic level, especially
interoperability between fighters, C-2 platforms, ships, ground commands, then it’s
much easier to adapt known procedures to a new situation.
“All operations are made of segments, which are basic ones, but the most difficult
thing is to link them – to a decision cycle, or battle area management – if you have
the perfect knowledge of that, and of course have the tools to do that, and know
how to place them because you’re anticipating these kinds of things, it’s much easier
to handle any operation.”
Leaving Libya behind, we wanted to know more about the priorities for training on
the road ahead when it comes to those crucial AWACS observers in the sky. Are we
likely to see fewer live exercises in favour of the more economically-friendly simulator
chambers? Which approach would he prefer?
“Both of them,” Aldaye replies without hesitation.
“For practical training, you cannot have every asset you need to reproduce the
same situation found in operations. In the simulator it’s much easier, but in the
simulator, you cannot play as certain platforms, you cannot play with different issues
you may have – with Links for instance – so both of them together is the best solution.
We have to train as we fight and fight as we train.
“Our E-2 simulator is especially good. You can reproduce heavy situations, with 80
fighters and a hundred ships, but you cannot play 80 pilots and 16 commanding
warship officers.”
The crux of the issue lies in the detail. As an active flight officer, Aldaye is fully capable
of determining any shortcomings in the minutiae of being above the battle space
aside to the issues of general strategy and platform investment. Shortly before
heading into his presentation conference, he casually highlights the ongoing need for
more specialist tutorials.
“We have some improvements right now, as General Schmidt (NATO AEW
commander) said this morning. We, as E-2 pilots, can maybe watch what the navy is
watching, but identifying is the challenge. I don’t think the E-2 operators now have
the qualification to recognise a target with an ISR pod. We need specific training for
that. The same if you have to guide other aircraft, we need specific training for that.
“You cannot improvise this kind of thing. It’s always the same problem: technically,
we have the solution, but we need the procedures in place to fulfil them.”
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This is the point at which the industry’s job is done and the work is handed over to the
commanders, instructors, and all those serving. That said, there is always room for
better integration between militaries and their private sector partners to come
together and outline future procedures as a way of tailoring new technologies to
meet the demands of tomorrow’s warfighter.
Rather than hoping for a crystal ball, the next best thing arrives in the form of Airborne
ISR 2012 as thought leaders, strategists and officers gather in London to build a wellrounded and adaptable approach for the way forward.
Event information is available at www.AirborneISR.com, or by emailing
[email protected], or phoning +44 (0) 20 7368 9300.
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