Course Description:

You learned to fast rope from a hovering helicopter onto solid ground at Air Assault. At Air Assault Advanced there is water under the rope and a moving tactical boat on it, and the whole team has to get onto its deck.

Air Assault Advanced is a two-day advanced course in inserting a combat team from a Eurocopter EC135 helicopter over water. You will fast rope onto the deck of a moving boat. On the first day you will cover the theory of insertion over water, safe movement in and around the helicopter, signals for communicating with the helicopter and boat crews, safety on the boat deck and procedures for falling into the water or losing contact with the rope. You will refresh fast roping on a training platform that simulates the helicopter deck, and practice organizing the team's movement on the boat deck during simulated insertions.

On the second day comes the real thing: insertion from a hovering helicopter onto a moving tactical boat. Everyone gets a self-inflating life jacket, and a boat with a professional rescue crew follows close behind the helicopter. We provide an inert training replica weapon free of charge. However, because of the risk if you fall into the water, we recommend completing the course without a weapon or tactical gear.

We never have more than 8 students per instructor, so everyone gets real attention.

Choose a date in the calendar below.

Who Is This Course For:

For graduates of the Air Assault course who have mastered fast roping from a helicopter and want to take it over water. It suits soldiers, reservists, members of tactical units and civilians interested in tactics who are not afraid of water or heights.

Due to the operational environment, swimming ability is mandatory!

What You Will Learn:

After two days you know how helicopters are used for insertion over water and how to move safely inside one during flight over water. You can communicate by signals with both the helicopter and boat crews, and you know what to do if you fall into the water or lose contact with the rope. You have refreshed fast roping on a training platform, and you can fast rope from a hovering helicopter onto the deck of a moving tactical boat and handle an emergency during insertion.

Contents:

Day 1: basic theory on the use of helicopters for inserting people over water, principles of safe movement around and inside the helicopter during over-water operations, procedures and signals for communicating with the helicopter crew and the boat crew, safety measures when working on the boat deck and procedures for falling into the water or losing contact with the rope. The practical training includes refreshing and practicing fast roping from a training platform that simulates the helicopter deck, organizing team movement and coordinating with the boat during simulated insertions.

Day 2: review of safety rules on board the helicopter and the boat, procedures for handling emergencies during insertion and practical training in inserting onto a moving tactical boat from a helicopter hovering over water.

Required Equipment:

Tactical clothing or a combat uniform and solid outdoor or duty footwear (both suited to the current weather and outdoor temperatures), fast rope gloves, a work seat harness or full-body harness, protective glasses, a protective helmet, a belt, or a plate carrier or any full ballistic vest, magazine pouches and knee pads. Above all, come to the course in clothing and gear that match your everyday carry or work as closely as possible, without having to buy any tactical gear. It is not required on this course.

If you would like to try modern ballistic gear, click on your chosen course date and you can rent one of the plate carriers on offer, including ballistic plates, or a top-of-the-line Galvion ballistic helmet. However, we recommend completing this course without tactical gear, which could create a risk of drowning if you fall into the water.

All participants will be provided with a professional self-inflating life jacket and will be covered by a professional rescue crew on a boat following close behind the helicopter.

Weapon:

We will provide you free of charge with our inert training replica weapons. However, we recommend completing this course without weapons, which could create a risk of drowning if you fall into the water.

Tactical Courses and the Law:

Czech law does not regulate participation in tactical courses in any way. You don't need any permit, and it doesn't matter whether you are a citizen of the Czech Republic, another EU country or a country outside the EU. Czech law sets no fixed minimum age, but a minor participant must be reasonably mature, both mentally and physically. We do not recommend registering children under 15 for a course this intensive.

Timing:

Class starts at 9:00 am. Please arrive at the venue no later than 8:30–8:45 am. The course usually ends around 4:00 pm, with a 30-minute lunch break during the day.

Venue:

We run our courses at various locations across the Czech Republic. You will find the exact venue for each date in the calendar, just click on the date. For multi-day courses that use more than one location, all venues are listed there.

Please check the venue carefully before booking. The same course often runs at different locations on different dates. Every now and then a student books a date expecting it to be at our home base, the Oleško shooting range, only to find out on the day that the course is taking place in Moravia, some 300 km away. To avoid this, always click on the date before booking and check where that particular date takes place.

Language:

Czech with English translation available.

Accommodation and Food:

Accommodation is not included in the course fee, each participant arranges and pays for it themselves. There is a 30-minute lunch break, so bring food that doesn't need cooking or ordering, such as an Adventure Menu type ration, an MRE or food from home, and enough to drink for the whole day.

Where to Go Next:

If you enjoy working with helicopters, you can continue with Aerial Platform Operations, where you will shoot a rifle from a helicopter in a hover, during air taxiing and on firing passes over the targets; Dynamic Rifle 1 is required. You can develop teamwork on the boat at River Operations, with silent infiltration and exfiltration, emergency extraction under fire and reacting to contact from the shore. You will learn classic rappelling with a descender at Tactical Rappelling and put it to use rappelling onto a balcony or terrace and entering through windows at Tactical Rappelling Advanced.

Have a Question?

You will find answers to the most common questions in our Questions and Answers section. Didn't find what you were looking for? Write or call us using any of our contacts, we will be happy to help.

Air Assault Advanced Video Clip:

On our YouTube channel you can watch a video clip from the Air Assault Advanced course. You will see how the course runs and what fast roping from a hovering helicopter onto the deck of a moving boat looks like.

Got everything you need? Choose a date below and don't forget to check where your chosen date takes place.