Learjet roundabout over Zollernalb: military exercise causes a stir!

Learjet roundabout over Zollernalb: military exercise causes a stir!

A striking sight occupied the residents of the Zollernalb district on Wednesday: a Learjet circled continuously over the region. Flight radar portals documented the plane's unusual route, which immediately raised questions about safety. A spokesman for the Bundeswehr Aviation Office clarified on Thursday that it was a planned training flight that was carried out by the Society for Flight Target Display (GFD) from Hohn.

The Learjet took off from Memmingen airfield and served as a target for ground troops at the Heuberg military training area. The flight altitude varied between 152 and 1676 meters above the ground. The GFD, a subsidiary of Airbus Defense and Space, offers realistic training solutions for the Bundeswehr, including support for close air support, electronic warfare and aerial target display for air defense training.

What is flight target display?

As part of military training, flight target display plays a central role. It includes support for land- and sea-based air defense exercises in which targets are simulated using modern techniques. Among other things, Learjets can be equipped with special winches that can lower targets up to 6.5 kilometers and catch them up again. GFD offers different training approaches, including live EK electronic warfare training and joint terminal attack controller support, which are essential for high-quality training.

In addition, innovative technologies such as the Thread Simulator Pod are used, which emits radar signatures and simulates approaching aircraft. The integrated video downlink system also allows full motion videos to be transmitted to ground troops, which significantly raises the training standard.

Military orders and operations

The Bundeswehr has currently published a tender for a medium-speed target display (M-FZD), which is intended to optimize the training of all branches of the armed forces. This initiative was officially initiated by the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr. Up to 5,800 flight hours per year are planned for the period from 2026 to 2035, although price will be the decisive factor in awarding the contract. Further information on this is available on ausstellen-deutschland.de to find.

For citizens who have questions about military flight operations, the Bundeswehr has set up a citizens' hotline on 0800 8620730. Callers are asked to state the location, date and time of their observations in order to enable the information to be correctly assigned.