On 31 January and 01 February 2023, the European Air Group (EAG) had the pleasure of hosting the second Air Warfare Centre Symposium. Subject Matter Experts from all seven EAG Air Warfare Centres and Air Force Headquarters, as well as distinguished guests from the Tactical Leadership Program (TLP) and USAFE-AFAFRICA, met at RAF High Wycombe to discuss and exchange views, strategies and concerns on the various topics.
This year, as per our Steering Group’s guidance, the EAG asked the participants to focus on the subject of the “lessons learned/lessons identified” processes within our air forces; within which the focus was on interoperability. In general terms, each nation’s guiding principle for the process, is based on NATO doctrine, but many shared similar challenges to make this process more efficient, including the necessary manpower involved in the process l, an appropriate mindset from those conducting the exercise or operation, and the importance of an active leadership.
Additionally, other subjects were discussed, ranging from UAV certification; through Live, Virtual and Constructive training, and on to the challenges within a multinational squadron and the training and qualification of weapons instructors. These discussions opened new lines of communication between some of the participants, that will lead to future bilateral or multilateral interactions between the most relevant specialists.
For the EAG, the symposium was extremely beneficial for the nations involved and has enabled consolidation of networks of interest. It also meant the expansion of, and the opening of new channels of communication to address other ongoing EAG projects and initiatives in areas such as Cyber, Synthetic Training, Operational Training Infrastructures (OTI) or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).
