SNAP exercise, Nörvenich AFB

"SNAP" stands for Significance of National Air Power. It is a Bundeswehr / Luftwaffe exercise held at Fliegerhorst Nörvenich and surroundings. The purpose is multifaceted:

• Practice evacuation of German citizens, protected individuals, or Bundeswehr personnel from crisis or war zones. 

• Simulating realistic threat scenarios: low‐altitude interceptions, airspace monitoring, simulated attacks on the airfield, ground operations, support flights, search & rescue / CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) or medevac missions. 

• Use of pyrotechnics and other effects during the exercises to approximate combat conditions. 

• Coordination among different units—aircraft, helicopters, possibly ground forces, command & control—to test readiness and reaction under complex, multi‐domain conditions. 

During the exercise the level of flying significantly increases. We visited the field on the last day of the exercise, Thursday. 14 Typhoons, 3 Tornado's took off. A A400 and another Tornado made a visitor stopover.

More pictures can be found here.