Hochgallmig is supplied from the air
Vienna (OTS) – The Austrian Federal Army has been deployed since December 25th to provide air supplies to the people in the cut-off district of Hochgallmig near Landeck. The state warning center requested army helicopters on Christmas Eve. Supply flights from the Pontlatz barracks are planned until further notice.
“As the armed forces, we are once again demonstrating our constant operational capability. It’s not just our avalanche rescue teams that are ready, our helicopters are also quickly ready to provide support where others have reached their limits. At this point I would like to thank all the emergency services and the soldiers for their commitment,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
Brigadier Ingo Gstrein, military commander of Tyrol, commented on the fact that the Tyrol military command was able to respond to the country’s requirements on Christmas Eve: “We soldiers are always ready to help the people in Austria and Tyrol. We also keep our barracks and our situation center occupied on weekends and public holidays in order to be able to react quickly.” After the request on December 24th at 6:00 p.m., the first reconnaissance flight took place on December 25th at 11:00 a.m. The Army’s Augusta Bell 212 helicopter will fly food, medicine, emergency equipment and people from Hochgallmig and help create an accurate picture of the situation.
Driven by the increased financial framework based on the national defense budget, the Austrian Armed Forces is currently further expanding its capacities as part of the “Mission Forward”. Barracks are being modernized and converted for self-sufficient operation. Other investment priorities are the effectiveness of soldiers and mobility. In the last area, 449 vehicles (from VW Golfs to large buses), ten Pandur “Evolution” personnel carriers, four HX42M medium recovery vehicles with trailers and 25 recovery trucks were purchased in the past year. One of the largest investments in 2023 was the AW169 helicopter. Five of the multi-purpose helicopters are already available to the Austrian Air Force, and by 2028 there will be 36.
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Credit: Federal Army
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