EDA's MHTC takes shape as Technical Arrangement is signed
The MHTC will manage the EDA’s current three helicopter training programs for an initial period of 15 years: the Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), the Helicopter Tactics Course (HTC), and the Helicopter Tactics Instructor Course (HTIC), which the Agency has managed for nearly a decade.The MHTC will be built in the same location as the current EDA helicopter training centre but with entirely new infrastructure and staffed permanently by a team of ten international personnel overseen by the MHTC Steering Board. The MHTC will provide at least 37 weeks of helicopter tactics training per year, including a multinational “Blade” helicopter exercise, a helicopter tactics symposium, and several introductory and advanced courses, to improve military helicopter crews’ tactical knowledge and interoperability levels, easing their preparation for international deployments.Since the MHTC project’s inception in August 2019, EDA has been actively involved in coordinating the harmonisation of the various agreements that form the legal, operational, and financial foundation of the MHTC and its working processes. From now on, and until the MHTC IOC is achieved by the end of 2023, EDA will gradually transfer this role to Portugal, as the MHTC host nation, which will take over the activities under the supervision of the MHTC Steering Board and with EDA’s support.
