Reconnaissance specialists from the British and German armies’ airborne forces have come together to share their specialist parachuting skills for the first time, as military co-operation between the two countries deepens.
Pathfinders and Fallschirmspezialzege parachute from the back ramp of a Luftwaffe A400M transport aircraft.
A Pathfinder packs his parachute.
Pathfinders and Fallschirmspezialzege descend over the Portuguese countryside under freefall canopies.
Pathfinders and Fallschirmspezialzege descend over the Portuguese countryside under freefall canopies.
Pathfinders and Fallschirmspezialzege descend over the Portuguese countryside under freefall canopies.
Pathfinders and Fallschirmspezialzege descend over the Portuguese countryside under freefall canopies.
Pathfinders (PF), from 16 Air Assault Brigade, and the Fallschirmspezialzege (FSZ) of Luftlandebrigade 1, joined forces for Exercise Deep Infil, a parachuting masterclass in Portugal.
The two units specialise in high altitude parachuting to discreetly insert behind enemy lines and set the conditions for further operations - a role defined by the Pathfinders’ motto ‘first in’. The key role of both PF and FSZ is to find and mark drop zones and landing zones where the main body of troops can be parachuted or landed by helicopter or aircraft.
It’s been a fantastic opportunity to work with Fallschirmspezialzege, who have almost identical role and capabilities to Pathfinders. What we both do is reliant on our specialist airborne insertion skills, of which parachuting is one."
Nine days of training at Aeródromo Militar de Tancos, near Lisbon, saw the British and German troops parachute together, jumping from a Luftwaffe A400M transport aircraft flying at 12,000ft. Planning and carrying out the jumps built understanding of each other’s tactics and techniques for day and night parachute operations.
The exercise was a strong demonstration of the growing military co-operation between the UK and Germany, following the signing of the Trinity House Agreement last October.
A PF troop commander said: “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to work with Fallschirmspezialzege, who have almost identical role and capabilities to Pathfinders. What we both do is reliant on our specialist airborne insertion skills, of which parachuting is one, and what better way to start our relationship is there than practising how we would deploy on an operation?
By training together, we are building our understanding of how we each work to be better prepared for any future operations together."
“Working with soldiers from a different army is always valuable, because looking at the slight differences in equipment and procedures is a chance to consider and refine what we do. By training together, we are building our understanding of how we each work to be better prepared for any future operations together.”
An FSZ officer said: “Soon after the Defence Ministers decided that the German-British military cooperation should come closer together, our Pathfinder comrades from Britain and the German Fallschirmspezialzuege do parachute training together. There is no better possibility to bond than doing jumps together. We are really looking forward to deepening our relationship, firstly by hosting the Pathfinders in Germany to visit our assessment and selection course.”
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