At the end of April 2017 seven Eurofighter Typhoons and 130 military personnel from the Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte at Zeltweg, Austria, deployed to Wittmund AB in Northern Friesland, Germany, home of the Taktisches Luftwaffegeschwader (TaktLwG) 71 'Richthofen'.
The Austrian detachment of the Überwachungsgeschwader flew out to Germany for a number of objectives, the first one to increase the cooperation with the German Luftwaffe. The other ones were exchanging the mutual experiences in operating the Eurofighter aircraft, practising the use of the 27 mm BK27 Mauser cannon against moving targets and fly with and against their hosts. The detachment also flew for the very first time in history of the Austrian Airforce with the A-4N Skyhawks of Discovery Air Defense Services, which are based at Wittmund.
The Austrians flew daily two missions over the aerial gunnery ranges, were each pilot had to fire 150 rounds from the Mauser Cannon at a moving target towed by a Skyhawk in a controlled airspace. The detachment lasted from April 27 to May 15 when all aircraft departed Germany for their trip back home.
The QRA with live Iris-T missiles
The special tail QRA
The latest A-4N in Discovery Air's inventory
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