German pilots prepare for CH‑47F fleet with US Army flight simulator

A U.S. Army flight simulator at a barracks in Germany stands as a center of critical training for NATO’s aviation community.

The U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach’s Stock Barracks in Illesheim houses the Illesheim Flight Simulator Complex, or IFSC, providing one-of-a-kind training opportunities ahead of the German Armed Forces preparing to field CH‑47F Block II Chinook helicopters next fall, according to an Army release .

The IFSC, which is operated by U.S. Army Europe and Africa, provides the necessary training needed to prepare German forces to receive 60 of the heavy-lift, tandem-rotor helicopters, the release says.

Two German Air Force pilots who will be part of the first cohort to fly the new aircraft once they arrive in fall 2027 recently trained at the IFSC.

“In the simulator you can train all the scenarios you do not want to experience while flying a real aircraft,” said Lt. Col. L, a visiting pilot whose name was withheld, as is standard in the German Air Force, or Bundeswehr Luftwaffe. “Emergency procedures, challenging landings and extreme weather operations can all be practiced safely.”

“Everything you can do in a real flight, you can also do in a simulator,” the other visiting pilot, Maj. H, said.

The fleet will be stationed at two Bundeswehr installations and is meant to boost Germany’s heavy-lift and transport abilities, per the statement.

Two Bundeswehr Luftwaffe pilots train at U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach’s Illesheim Flight Simulator Complex on Storck Barracks. (Gerlinde Hoyle/U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach)

The two German pilots also trained in the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Fort Rucker is the Army’s largest helicopter training institution and trains more than 1,300 U.S. soldiers every year. Beginning in 2028, German Air Force aviators will also trek to Fort Rucker annually for initial helicopter training and complete “track training,” including the CH‑47 qualification.

The Army did not say how many German aviators are expected to train at Fort Rucker each year, but the release noted that the German Air Force plans to staff more than 200 trained pilots to operate its future fleet.

Germany has already begun sending helicopter pilots for conversion training to the CH‑47 platform, according to the release.

Since the IFSC simulator software is tailored to U.S. Army aircraft configurations and not the Bundeswehr’s, the German pilots will need additional learning to transition to their Air Force’s aircraft.

Instead of German Air Force pilots needing to travel across the Atlantic for advanced simulator training, the IFSC allows them to drive just three to five hours from their home station.

By using the existing U.S. Army facilities in Europe, NATO partners reduce costs by not needing to build their own simulator complex, the announcement says. Even though the IFSC schedule prioritizes U.S. Army soldiers, the complex routinely supports at least five NATO partners’ pilots.

“For NATO partners requiring up-to-date, quality aircraft simulation training, USAG Ansbach’s Storck Barracks continues to prove its value: a small installation delivering strategic impact through world‑class training,” the release reads.

Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.

位于德国某兵营的美国陆军飞行模拟器是北约航空界的重要训练中心。

据美国陆军发布的消息，位于伊勒斯海姆的美国陆军安斯巴赫驻军的斯托克兵营内设有伊勒斯海姆飞行模拟器综合体（IFSC），为德国武装部队在明年秋季部署 CH-47F Block II 支奴干直升机之前提供独一无二的训练机会。

新闻稿称，由美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部运营的 IFSC 为德国军队接收 60 架重型串列旋翼直升机提供了必要的训练。

两名德国空军飞行员最近在 IFSC 接受了培训，他们将成为 2027 年秋季新飞机交付后首批驾驶该飞机的飞行员。

“在模拟器中，你可以练习所有你在驾驶真飞机时不想遇到的情况，”一位不愿透露姓名的来访飞行员，中校L说道。按照德国空军（联邦国防军）的惯例，他的姓名并未公开。“紧急程序、高难度着陆和极端天气条件下的飞行操作都可以在模拟器中安全练习。”

“在真实飞行中你能做的一切，在模拟器中也能做，”另一位来访的飞行员H少校说道。

声明称，这支舰队将驻扎在德国联邦国防军的两个基地，旨在提升德国的重型起重和运输能力。

两名德国联邦国防军空军飞行员在位于斯托克兵营的美国陆军安斯巴赫驻军伊勒斯海姆飞行模拟器中心进行训练。（格琳德·霍伊尔/美国陆军安斯巴赫驻军）

这两名德国飞行员也曾在位于阿拉巴马州鲁克堡的美国陆军航空卓越中心接受过训练。

鲁克堡是美国陆军最大的直升机训练基地，每年训练超过1300名美军士兵。从2028年开始，德国空军飞行员也将每年前往鲁克堡接受直升机初始训练并完成“专项训练”，包括CH-47直升机资格认证。

陆军方面没有透露预计每年有多少德国飞行员将在鲁克堡接受训练，但新闻稿指出，德国空军计划招募 200 多名训练有素的飞行员来操作其未来的机队。

据新闻稿称，德国已经开始派遣直升机飞行员接受 CH-47 平台的改装训练。

由于 IFSC 模拟器软件是为美国陆军飞机配置量身定制的，而不是为德国联邦国防军飞机量身定制的，因此德国飞行员需要额外的学习才能过渡到他们空军的飞机。

德国空军飞行员无需跨越大西洋进行高级模拟器训练，IFSC 使他们只需从驻地驱车三到五个小时即可完成训练。

公告称，通过利用美国陆军在欧洲的现有设施，北约伙伴国无需自行建设模拟器综合设施，从而降低了成本。尽管国际飞行模拟器中心（IFSC）的训练计划优先考虑美国陆军士兵，但该中心通常也为至少五个北约伙伴国的飞行员提供支持。

新闻稿中写道：“对于需要最新、高质量飞机模拟训练的北约伙伴而言，安斯巴赫美国陆军基地的斯托克兵营不断证明其价值：一个小型设施通过世界一流的训练产生战略影响。”

克里斯蒂娜·斯塔西斯是一位记者，主要报道国防工业、国家安全、军事/退伍军人事务等领域的新闻。她曾于2024年在《防务新闻》担任编辑助理，协助Sightline媒体集团旗下新闻编辑室处理突发新闻。