It’s 7:00 a.m. in a typical office in Germany: The coffee machine is bubbling, coworkers are chatting—it’s time for that beloved morning ritual to wake up: “I need a cup of coffee first, otherwise I just can’t get going!”  

But what if you have to go from deep sleep to full alertness in five seconds? 

Emergency response in Wittmund 

4:00 a.m. in Wittmund: A piercing siren wails through the building housing the alert unit of Tactical Air Force Wing 71 “Richthofen.” The crews of the two Eurofighter jets, who are once again responsible for securing German airspace tonight, are ready within seconds.  

Every move is precise 

She slips into her G-suit, which protects her body from the intense G-forces during flight, grabs her helmet—every move is precise – and sprint to their planes. Adrenaline floods their bodies. They must be in the air within 15 minutes, and it is still unclear why the alarm was triggered: Has a foreign military aircraft entered German airspace without authorization to test the German air defense response? Has a civilian aircraft fallen victim to a terrorist attack?  

The decision is still up in the air 

After the so-called emergency takeoff—soaring nearly vertically into the air at nearly Mach 1—the pilots receive their mission orders: German air traffic controllers have lost radio contact with a commercial aircraft. They have tried several times to reestablish radio communication—without success. The controllers have therefore informed the National Airspace Safety Control Center in Uedem, Lower Rhine. Uedem has decided to dispatch the emergency squadron to visually inspect the aircraft in question: Are there unauthorized persons in the cockpit? Do the pilots of the aircraft respond to hand signals? Are they in an emergency situation that they cannot communicate via radio? 

Leadership Instead of a Coffee Break 

It is the responsibility of the pilots in the emergency squadron to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. There is no time for a cup of coffee before the mission. Instead, adrenaline keeps them on high alert, and communication and leadership procedures honed through countless training sessions ensure a successful mission.  

Your training in the Eurofighter simulator 

Would you like to gain this confidence in crisis situations? Train in our Eurofighter simulator under the guidance of our pilots to improve your reaction speed, communication skills, and leadership abilities.