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testing facilities, defense research, and aircraft carriers.
The agreement also called for developing a joint
expeditionary force and for cooperation in maintenance,
training, and logistics in connection with the
French and British air forces’ acquisition of the A400M
transport aircraft. 13
Implementation of the agreement has been thus
far incomplete but has included regular joint military
exercises. Some British officers have been deployed
on a French aircraft carrier, 14 and pilots from each
country have flown the other’s fighter jets as an initial
step toward establishing a combined joint expeditionary
force by 2016. 15 France has also agreed to a British
proposal to jointly develop and build a new anti-ship
missile and a new generation of advanced unmanned
aircraft. 16
Benelux Defense Cooperation.
Defense cooperation between Belgian and Dutch
naval forces began in the early post-World War II period
and has included the establishment of a single
commanding officer for the two navies, of an integrated
naval staff, and of integrated support structures. 17
An accord was signed in 2012 for increased joint naval
training between Belgian commandos and the Dutch
Airmobile Brigade. The two air forces also agreed to
cooperate more closely in using each other’s airfields,
in joint deployments, and in integration of materiel
support. Future areas of cooperation include logistics
and maintenance, military education, defense acquisition,
and joint military operations. 18
Another multilateral arrangement involving Belgium
and the Netherlands is the European Participating
Air Forces (EPAF) program, which also includes
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