Within the scope of the RealThaw and HotBlade 2024 (RTHB24) exercises, where the objective is to promote interoperability in the various missions, the presence of TACP/JTAC teams from different participating countries is worth highlighting, with this year nine nationalities represented, where In addition to Portugal, the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany and observers from Greece stand out.

These highly qualified military personnel operate in teams whose mission is to direct combat aircraft, fixed or rotary wing, from an advanced position on the ground, in close proximity to enemy forces, integrating aerial armament with the fire and movement of ground units. , these aerial actions being designated as Close Air Support (CAS - Close Air Support).

It should be noted that this Thursday, May 30th, in one of the several missions carried out in the RTHB24 exercise, one of the JTAC teams (consisting of Portuguese and Danish) was integrated into a special operations team, being infiltrated into enemy territory in order to establish an elevated position on the ground enabling observation of the battlefield.

The Mirage 2000, from the French Air Force, and the EF-2000, from the Spanish Air Force were assigned to this mission, which, controlled by the JTAC team, carried out several attacks on the ground in order to neutralize enemy activity, destroying several vital infrastructures, contributing thus for the ultimate success of the mission.