PARIS\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The French Army Air Corps is well on the way to creating a fourth helicopter brigade and has been upgraded to a more integrated aviation command, Army Maj. Gen. Olivier de la Motte said Feb. 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Army aviation command will draw on 5,000 personnel and be backed with a working budget of \u20ac1.2 billion (us $1.4 billion), he told a conference on air-land combat organized by weekly magazine Air & Cosmos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That is not bad for a small and medium-sized company,” he said. The headquarters staff will see a 50 percent increase to 150 personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Helicopters saw a high level of activity last year, with the “neutralization” of some 10 tons of ammunition, he said. Pilots are now flying long distances across abrasive desert conditions with <\/span>extreme desert climate conditions in the Barkhane operation. The force has previously flown urban operations in Mali, mountainous Afghanistan, and across the sea in Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n