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"FAILURE TO PROCURE A NEW INTERCEPTOR AIRCRAFT WILL MEAN THE END OF THE AIR FORCE"

FLUG REVUE spoke to the Air Force Chief of Staff at the Austrian Ministry of Defence about the requirements for a new fighter aircraft and the possible ramifications if once again a decision cannot be reached.

FR: Is active air defence, i.e. with fighter aircraft, actually still necessary for smaller European countries?

Brigadier Josef Bernecker: Every country, however small, has the internationally agreed duty to protect its sovereign airspace. But of course, the challenges are nowadays moving away from the classical self defence to international missions, like crisis management and peacekeeping, which will more and more be dealt with in multilateral efforts. It is therefore essential to get a national contribution to a multilateral entity, so as to ensure their success.

FR: So without active air defence this is not possible?

Brigadier Bernecker: No, without active air defence this is not possible!

FR: But that comes at a price. Surely 30 fighters at a cost of 25 billion schillings [approx. Euro 1.82 billion] will be too great a burden on the Austrian defence budget?

Brigadier Bernecker: I wouldn't say that. Obviously the procurement of fighter aircraft consumes a "major chunk". But the fact is that both the importance of an air arm and also the potential threat from the air have increased. The rationale is that a fighter is essentially a political and strategic option for accomplishing one's will against third parties.

As one attempts to resolve conflicts, the important thing today is to minimise the risk, to be able to control the escalation or de-escalation. And to do that one needs an air arm: the number of people whose lives are put at risk is kept down while at the same time considerable efficiency is achieved.

FR: That is a good reason for having an air force. But what is the situation as regards the current need to invest this 25 billion schillings? Will special financing be necessary?

Brigadier Bernecker: There is no special financing since, seen from a global perspective, all there is is the regular budget. The Drakens are definitely at the end of their service lives. If they are not replaced soon, we will not be able to fulfil our mission any more. No doubt we will then lose a large proportion of our highly trained personnel, and in any case we will lose a lot of expertise. Should we then have to build it up again, it will not be a matter of a few days but quite possibly of ten years.

In other words, the investment is needed now, even if it isn't very popular - and here I am thinking of the issue of cuts in social benefits. But the biggest social benefit a state can give is actually that of protecting its citizens from a war.

FR: How will the money be raised?

Brigadier Bernecker: Of course it will be a long-term programme covering a number of years, and the first payments will not be due until 2004. Moreover, we do not yet know whether it really will cost 25 billion. This figure is the result of ÖNORM 2050, which requires that before issuing an invitation to tender the maximum sum it could possibly be expected to cost is provided for in the budget.

FR: What measures would the Federal Army need to take if no fighter procurement were to come about in the foreseeable future, and what would be the consequences for Austria?

Brigadier Bernecker: If a politician decides there is no longer any need for air defence - and the moment he decides against procuring a replacement fighter aircraft that is in effect what he is doing - then he will be responsible! We will then no longer be able to perform our mission, with all the political consequences that means. The worst thing in my opinion is that we would then have absolutely no right to be consulted or to participate in the common European foreign and security policy.

Internally in the medium-term that means of course the end of the Air Force, because the lack of appropriate resources will not only mean the end of air defence but make the training of personnel to perform in this role superfluous. Even a passive monitoring system ("Golden Hat" air defence radar system) then makes little sense.

The consequences with regard to the infrastructure such as the closure of airfields can be easily imagined. In Zeltweg alone 600 jobs would be affected. This would also have serious consequences for the regional economy, which very likely would have to endure the closure of barracks and air bases.

FR: Would military flying in Austria then be confined to helicopters in service with the army?

Brigadier Bernecker: Yes! And one would then have to ask oneself whether these tasks could not be covered just as well by the ÖAMTC [the Austrian automobile, motorbike and touring club] with its helicopters.

FR: And such a decision would doubtless have considerable implications for the Austrian economy as well?

Brigadier Bernecker: Yes, that is quite clear. For example, there would then be no industrial offsets, spin-off effects and enterprise zones such as one gets as part of a package of industrial offsets,. But the effects will begin even earlier, with our partners inferring a certain hostility to technology from Austria's refusal to co-operate further in the high-tech area. In the medium term this would lead to a decline in the high-technology area and mean the loss of know-how and of jobs. We would then be condemned to remain a country capable only of processing raw materials and making Mozartkugels [a popular luxury chocolate].

FR: Why has the Federal Army decided to go for new aircraft?

Brigadier Bernecker: New aircraft especially because we must finally get into the normal rhythm of the technology generations. If one has only resources that are technologically obsolete one is at a disadvantage from the start. Moreover, only with new aircraft which incorporate the latest technology does one have the security of knowing that they will be fit for purpose in the long-term.

From a purely operational point of view systems today are designed for 30 years. We should therefore finally lay this question, which has been discussed in Austria for some 35 years, to rest.

FR: What is the position with regard to the minimum requirements for the new type? Would a Eurofighter or a Super Hornet not be "overkill" also as regards the costs?

Brigadier Bernecker: The biggest problem in the cost efficiency analysis of an air defence system is really that the three components of observation system, command and control system and surveillance system must be co-ordinated. The aircraft you have mentioned were designed in the era of the Cold War. But today we no longer have the problem of needing a penetration depth of hundreds of kilometres. The only real task we have left is that of air defence, either in our own airspace or in a multilateral operation, for example, the task of enforcing a no-fly zone, and no doubt there are sufficient systems there which are tailored for those roles.

FR: So can you imagine a situation in which in the wake of a peace enforcement mission NATO actually needs to call on the Austrian air defence capability?

Brigadier Bernecker: In this context I would not speak of NATO but rather of a Partnership for Peace, and naturally we will be called upon. When one considers the nationalities and the aircraft that are deployed in central and eastern Europe, one can see how broad the basis of this mission would be.

FR: What is the position with regard to the necessary NATO interoperability?

Brigadier Bernecker: It is clearly important to be able to "talk" to each other, and that is what interoperability is all about. At present we would not even be able to do this over the radio as we operate in different frequency ranges.

Naturally procedures must be harmonised as well. Everyone involved on a mission must "speak the same language". NATO is not necessarily the answer, as not everything functions there either, as one learns with amazement. Standardisation of training, procedures and systems in Europe will definitely be necessary to pursue the European idea and not the NATO idea. The European idea has flourished in economic policy and in financial policy - look at the euro, for example - but not really in defence policy.

FR: That would suggest a European solution on the fighter aircraft decision.

Brigadier Bernecker: Yes, I definitely believe that, and I make no secret of the fact either, because I believe that if we do not purchase from industry here in Europe there will soon not be any European industry left. We will lose any industrial capacity and, along with this, any technological capacity, because the companies will no longer be able to exist. Europe will then be unilaterally dependent on American military technology, with far-reaching political consequences. Ultimately it is a matter of converting the notion of "Buy American" to "Buy European".

FR: So it will boil down to a decision between the American F-16 and the European Gripen?

Brigadier Bernecker: I would not say that at the outset, as we don't know exactly how much the aircraft will cost, we don't know exactly what the companies will agree to - these things are also subject to political influence to a certain degree. I would therefore defer making any decisions until I have reliable information.

FR: You mean only after the tenders have been submitted.

Brigadier Bernecker: Yes. Hence also the decision of the Ministry of Defence to write to all the candidate companies.

FR: That leads on to the question of why you are not considering the Russian MiG-29.

Brigadier Bernecker: The real problem with the MiG-29 is more of a political nature. As a member of the European Union it would be difficult to make a political case for such a solution - the main stumbling block being economic rather than military. Besides, the MiG-29 will not remain widely in service for much longer, we should not be under any illusions there.

I actually have the same concerns with some of the other planes as well. It is necessary to consider which aircraft are likely to be taken out of service and when. Hungary and Poland are currently discussing only temporary solutions with a maximum timescale of 10 years. And if we look ahead to the European scenario in the year 2015, we will not see very many third generation aircraft still around.

FR: Brigadier, thank you for the interview.

Brigadier Bernecker was interviewed by Gerald A. Simperl.

From page 56 of FLUG REVUE 8/2001