Celle Air Base - Significance and Future Development

Significance and Future Development

Celle Air Base is an important economic factor in the structurally weak Celle region. The air base spends approximately 3.5 Million Euro annually on building and maintenance works and an additional 3 Million Euro per year on facility management (2006). More than 2000 soldiers, civil servants and ancillary staff are employed at the base.

Nearly all of the younger generation of the German armed forces' helicopter pilots have at some stage during their training passed through Celle Air Base. This will continue in future as all prospective helicopter pilots of the armed forces are destined to receive their training here.

Training flights as well as missions throughout Germany are flown from Celle Air Base. Due to the role of Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 helicopter units from all over Germany head for Celle Air Base.

Combined with areas controlled by the military air bases Bückeburg, Wunstorf and Faßberg (southwest to northeast) the airspace surrounding Celle is part of a larger area of responsibility which represents one of the largest connected military air spaces near the ground in Germany. This enables military flights inside this area to remain solely under military control.

Due to its proximity to the large military training areas Bergen and Munster Celle Air Base occasionally participates national and international manoeuvres when military aircraft are involved.

In contrast to other air bases like Ramstein Air Base, Celle Air Base is relatively unknown within Germany. Apart from local newspapers and internal media of the German Army it is rarely mentioned in the press. Civil aviation does not take place at Celle Air Base.

Due to an increase in costs and in order to decrease the noise pollution for the population flight simulators are increasingly used. Only the essential elements of flight training are practised by using actual helicopters. By 2012 the German armed forces had intend to have implemented the new Tiger and NH-90 helicopters. Consequently, training on the Bell UH-1D was to be reduced and terminated in September 2010. The remaining Bell UH-1D helicopters were handed over to Faßberg Air Base where they will be flown until the delivery of the new NH-90 helicopter. The practicing of autorotation was to be continued at Celle as this could not be trained on the standard helicopter for initial flight training, the Eurocopter EC-135 stationed at the main base of Army Aviation School at Bückeburg. However, with the forthcoming discontinuation of flying activities at Celle Air Base, the practice of autoration will be trained elesewhere.

Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 was to remain responsible for the entire fleet of Bölkow Bo-105 of the German armed forces. Apart from missions flown by Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100, training flights of the Army Aviation School were also supposed to continue at Celle since, in view of cost-effectiveness and noise pollution, it was thought that this task could not be managed by a single airfield alone. Nevertheless, due to the reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces both Army Aviation Maintenance Squadron 100 and Army Aviation Liaison and Reconnaissance Squadron 100 will be disbanded.

In October 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Defence announced a reorganisation/reduction of the German Armed Forces. As a consequence, all units currently stationed at Celle Air Base will cease to exist. The respective units will either be dissolved or relocated to and integrated into the International Helicopter Training Centre at Bückeburg. The facilities at Celle will be used to house a regional medical treatment facility, a non-commissioned officer candidate battalion, an air manoeuvre training centre and a fire brigade unit. The number of military personnel at the air base will be reduced from 1080 to 400.