Österreichs Bundesheer

Under the motto "Above the clouds!" AIRPOWER22 was held on 2nd and 3rd September for the tenth time at Hinterstoisser military airfield, Zeltweg.  Read more

The conference "Security Challenges and Opportunities in the Use of Open-Source Information and Emerging Technologies in the Field of Migration" took place at the National Defence Academy of the Federal Ministry of Defence in Vienna. This event focused on how to achieve a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities posed by the exploitation of open sources and emerging technologies in addressing contemporary security challenges in an interactive format.  Read more

The decision has been taken: The Ministry of Defence buys 18 new Leonardo AW169M helicopters, the acquisition is made in cooperation with Italy and amounts to 300 million euros.  Read more

All over Austria the Austrian Armed Forces are helping to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus. Hundreds of soldiers and civilian employees are participating in this operation in all parts of Austria.  Read more

Klaudia Tanner was sworn in as new Minister of Defence. Thus, she became the first female head of the Austrian Armed Forces. Tanner was inaugurated by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.  Read more

On March 4, new Austrian camouflage uniforms were issued to the troops. The Styrian Jägerbataillon 18 became the first unit to be equipped, with Minister of Defence Mario Kunasek personally handing over the clothing. From now on, a total of 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers are planned to follow every year.  Read more

In January, the Austrian Armed Forces helped the population in Western Austria to cope with heavy snowfalls. In order to assist the civil authorities the army sent personnel, helicopters and a variety of engineer/sapper vehicles. At peak times, up to 1,700 soldiers helped fight the snow.  Read more

In Vienna, new armoured personnel carriers for the Austrian Armed Forces were presented by the Minister of Defence Mario Kunasek. "The protection of soldiers will continue to be an essential part of our investments in the future. Especially in missions abroad, our soldiers are exposed to many dangers, so it is important to me to continue investing in protected mobility," said the minister.  Read more

On Zeltweg airbase, the Austrian Armed Forces received two of in total four DA-40 aircraft of Diamond Aircraft Industries. The hand-over ceremony took place in the presence of the Austrian Minister of Defence Mario Kunasek and the Austrian Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology Norbert Hofer.  Read more

On 28 March, Major General Anton Waldner, relinquished his position as commander EUFOR in a change of command ceremony held at Camp Butmir near Sarajevo. General James Everard passed the authority of Commander European Union Force to Major General Martin Dorfer who begins his period of command immediately.  Read more

Today, Mario Kunasek was sworn in as new Minister of Defence. He was inaugurated by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, and is now the head of the Austrian Armed Forces.  Read more

Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil set the stage for a realignment of airspace surveillance by the Austrian Armed Forces: On the basis of the report by the 26-member special commission "Active Airspace Surveillance", 100 percent of the monitoring mission for Austria's airspace is to be performed by a single-fleet system, deploying a fleet of 15 single-seat and 3 double-seat supersonic jets. From 2020 onward, the Armed Forces will gradually phase out operations with the ...  Read more

For the first time Austrian tank crews participated in the Strong Europe Tank Challenge at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. And what an appearance the soldiers made: Despite being the newcomers, they returned home with the trophy. Germany placed second, and the United States third.  Read more

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports (FMDS) has filed a criminal complaint with the Vienna Office of Public Prosecutions today against Airbus Defence and Space GmbH (formerly EADS Deutschland GmbH) and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH based on suspected willful and fraudulent deception. The Republic of Austria represented by the Finanzprokuratur (lawyer and legal advisor of the Republic of Austria) has joined the proceedings against the two Airbus companies as a private party.  Read more

Austria's biggest ever airshow proved to be the climax of Styria's summer events calendar. Hinterstoisser Air Base in Zeltweg welcomed around 300,000 AIRPOWER fans on September 2 and 3 for two nine-hour, action-packed days of flying - including a demonstration by the Armed Forces, spectacular displays by the Flying Bulls and Red Bull Aces Exhibition and some of the best aerobatic display teams in Europe. The region also benefitted significantly from the family event.  Read more

Today, Hans Peter Doskozil has been sworn in as new Minister of Defence and Sports. Thus, he becomes head of the Austrian Armed Forces. He was inaugurated by Federal President Heinz Fischer.  Read more

At this moment in time with the refugee crisis, Warrant Officer III Jürgen Beyrer is able to get an oversight of the situation from the helicopter. Whilst in the air he can see for kilometers across the Austrian border - even when it is pitch black he can see up to 5 kilometers with his night vision device.  Read more

More than 1,200 members of the Austrian Armed Forces are currently deploying to help with the influx of thousands of refugees. Their tasks include humanitarian aid as well as border controls.  Read more

The Armed Forces have started a program to modernise their Pandur armoured personnel carriers. Some of the vehicles will reinforce Austria's peacekeepers in Kosovo later this year.  Read more

Austria's Minister of Defence and Sports Gerald Klug presented a wide-ranging restructuring package for the Armed Forces. These cuts became necessary to enable the service to cope with new spending cuts. The "Structural package 2018" will help save EUR200 million a year, the Minister explained.  Read more