SU-27s are an important part of Russian and Chinese air power but Mr ten Cate insists that ECA is not aiming to imitate either. “Russian fighter jets have been sold around the world so they are widely used,” he says. “We’re a generic enemy.”
A recruitment drive is under way for up to 45 qualified fighter pilots, as well as maintenance technicians. An advertisement was placed in an aviation trade publication last month offering pilots a salary of €160,000 a year – more than all but the most senior commercial airline pilots.
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Pretty cool, and check out the salary the pilots of these things will get? But what is really interesting is that this company will have a very unique capability. By constantly wargaming and learning the limitations and capabilities of these aircraft, they will be able to learn the best way to use them. That information will definitely be used in future planning and training, along with the incredible war gaming these folks will be able to offer.
The other interesting angle is that the only articles that I have found about this, is the FT ones I posted below, and a Russian Times article that bashed the hell out of the idea. Of course they called this company a ‘private army’ and mercenary and whatever ‘evil’ western name they could use to fire up any criticism of the deal. A little miffed maybe? lol No commentary from China yet.
Interesting move, and the jobs it will produce locally will be great for Iceland. It will also help them strategically, by setting up a school that will help their air force, and friendly air forces throughout the world who wish to gain a jet fighting capability for defeating Chinese and Russian aircraft. Not a bad gig for ECA Program Ltd. –Matt
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ECA has agreed to buy up to 33 Sukhoi Su-27 fighters.
Cold war base to be private ‘Top Gun’ school
By Andrew Ward in Stockholm
August 30 2010
Iceland’s Keflavik airbase, a bulwark of western security during the cold war, would be home to two squadrons of Russian-made fighter jets under plans being considered by Reykjavik.
The Icelandic government is in talks about renting the airbase to a private company that says it is buying up to €1.2bn ($1.5bn) of Sukhoi warplanes from Belarus for use as a mock enemy in military training exercises.
ECA Program says it has already signed up five air forces keen to test their pilots and jets against an aircraft most commonly flown by the Russian and Chinese militaries.
“We are the car rental service of the military training world,” said Melville ten Cate, ECA’s Dutch co-founder.
According to Mr ten Cate, ECA has agreed to buy 15 Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” jets from BelTechExport, a Belarusian arms export company, with the option of 18 more. If completed, it would be the biggest sale of fighter aircraft to a private buyer and the first large-scale import of Russian-made warplanes into a Nato country.
Iceland’s government has so far taken ECA seriously – so much so that some of the end-user certificates needed to import the jets have already been issued, according to officials.
One official said the government was close to giving conditional approval to ECA. Reykjavik would consult Nato allies before a final go-ahead, he added.
Yet, much about the deal is shrouded in mystery and several defence industry officials have questioned its credibility – including some that Mr ten Cate says are involved.
BelTechExport denied knowledge of the deal on Monday, having previously confirmed it to the Financial Times. An official at the Belarusian agency responsible for approving arms exports said he was not aware of it and Rosoboronexport, the Russian state arms exporter, denied involvement.
According to Mr ten Cate, the aircraft were originally made in Russia and will be “upgraded” in Belarus, with the first delivery in October.
He said financing was coming from investors in the Middle East and Asia and, possibly, a future initial public offering. People at PwC, the professional services firm, and Hogan & Lovell, the US law firm, confirmed that ECA had been in contact about a potential flotation but said plans were at an early stage.
The proposals have already caused controversy in a country with no armed forces of its own. Critics portray ECA as a mysterious “private army” stepping into the security vacuum left when US forces vacated Keflavik in 2006.
Mr ten Cate said the jets would not be equipped to carry live ammunition and no training would take place in Icelandic airspace.
Story here.
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Iceland set to embrace war-game fliers
By Andrew Ward in Stockholm
August 30 2010
A private military training company plans to base as many as 30 Sukhoi ‘flanker’ jets at Keflavik, Iceland, for use by air forces worldwide as mock enemy in aerial war games
Gudmundur Petursson worked for years as a contractor for the US military at Keflavik airbase on the Reykjanes peninsula, south-west Iceland.
Now, he is waiting for a green light from the Icelandic government to start building a 15,000 sq metre hangar for a fleet of Russian-made fighter jets.
Mr Petursson, chief executive of FM Service, an Icelandic facility management company, is a cheerleader for plans by a private military training company to base up to 33 Sukhoi “flanker” jets at Keflavik for use by air forces worldwide as mock enemy in aerial war games.
“Most people around here are very positive about it because it will bring a lot of jobs and keep technological expertise here,” he said.
Iceland’s readiness to embrace ECA Program, the company involved in the plan, highlights its need for jobs and investment after a banking crisis shattered the country’s economy in 2008.
The Keflavik area was struggling before the crisis after the departure of the US air force in 2006 pushed up unemployment. The base closure ended 60 years of US presence at Keflavik and left Iceland, which has no armed forces of its own, without any permanent military protection.
Critics have portrayed ECA Program as a mysterious “private army” seeking to fill Iceland’s security vacuum.
But Melville ten Cate, the company’s Dutch co-founder, insists that there is nothing sinister about his plan to buy €1.2bn ($1.5bn, £983m) of warplanes from Belarus and bring them to Iceland. The aircraft will not be equipped to carry ammunition, allowing them to be licensed as commercial aircraft, and no military exercises will take place in Icelandic airspace, he says. “We couldn’t take out a pigeon unless it flew into the engine.”
ECA had previously targeted Goose Bay airbase in Canada as a potential home but turned to Iceland when negotiations with Canadian authorities broke down.
Detailed talks have been under way for more than a year over the lease of space at Keflavik and much of the certification needed to import the jets and associated ground equipment has been secured.
Support for the project is far from universal within the Icelandic government but officials say ECA is close to winning conditional approval. A few similar companies, such as Airborne Tactical Advantage Company of the US and Top Aces of Canada, offer a similar service using older Israeli, French and US jets. But, if all goes to plan, ECA’s will become by far the biggest and newest fleet of its kind. The aircraft are to be backed up by ground equipment, including radar and communications jamming technology and simulated surface-to-air missile systems, to create realistic training conditions.
Several defence industry officials contacted by the Financial Times are deeply sceptical of ECA’s business plan, given the cost of buying and maintaining fighter aircraft.
Mr ten Cate insists he can pull it off. He says most air forces use their aircraft to mimic the enemy – a waste of resources, he argues, that risks creating a false sense of security.
“With the cost per hour of flying fighter jets, you cannot afford to have guys boring holes in the sky not learning anything. Training should involve flying against different aircraft to your own, behaving like your enemy.”
SU-27s are an important part of Russian and Chinese air power but Mr ten Cate insists that ECA is not aiming to imitate either. “Russian fighter jets have been sold around the world so they are widely used,” he says. “We’re a generic enemy.”
A recruitment drive is under way for up to 45 qualified fighter pilots, as well as maintenance technicians. An advertisement was placed in an aviation trade publication last month offering pilots a salary of €160,000 a year – more than all but the most senior commercial airline pilots.
Story here.