Jagdkommando: Austrian Special Forces

Jagdkommando sniper rifles include the HK417P in 7.62mm NATO, Steyr SSG 08A2 in .338 Lapua Magnum, and Barrett M82A1 in .50 BMG. Their standard, combat knife is the Glock FM78 Field Knife. The FN P90 personal defense weapon in 5.7x28mm is also widely used, often with a suppressor. Optional firearms include the HK416 carbine, SSG M1 sniper rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum, and the Browning M2 heavy machine gun. Stationed just across the airfield, EKO Cobra also uses the Steyr AUG carbine, Glock-17, 18C, and 19 pistol variants, and they use a suppressed version of the B&T (Swiss) APC9 submachine gun in 9x19mm, replacing the earlier, H&K MP5SD3 series. B&T APC9 SD submachine gun. Photo credit: B&T Guns. Interestingly, EKO Cobra is the only counterterrorist unit in the world to terminate a hijacking while the aircraft was still in the air. On October 17, 1996, four Cobra officers were aboard an Aeroflot (Russian) Tupolev Tu-154M airliner, escorting deported prisoners to Lagos, Nigeria, when a Nigerian man threatened the cockpit crew with a knife, and demanded a diversion to Germany or South Africa. The Cobra team overpowered the man, and handed him over to local authorities after landing. Jagdkommando vehicles include the Puch G 290/LP Sandviper, with machine gun mounted, the Defenture GRF (Netherlands) armored, tactical vehicle, the Polaris DAGOR, Polaris MRZR D2/D4, Polaris Sportsman 570cc 6×6 Big Boss ATV, and KTM 450 SX-F Enduro off-road motorcycles. They also employ Hurricane H955 Mach II and Silinger Proraid 765 rigid-hull, inflatable boats Tactical aviation assistance for the Jagdkommando unit is provided by the Air Support Wing at Figl Air Base, just south of Landenlebarn, which is only 12 miles northwest of Vienna. The base houses nine S-70A-42 Black Hawk medium transport helicopters, 10 OH-58B Kiowa light utility helicopters, and eight PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo-Porter light transport planes (of the 4th Air Squadron.) Austrian Air Force S-70A-42 Black Hawk over the Alps. Photo credit: Austrian Armed Forces. The short-takeoff-and-landing (STOL) PC-6s (they can take off in just 640 feet, and land in 427 feet) actually spend most of their time with the Kommando Wing at Wiener Neustadt Air Base, providing parachute training for Jagdkommando and EKO Cobra. At the southern edge of the base, the civilian, Fallschirmspringen (“Skydiving”) Club offers tandem or solo jumps from various light aircraft, including Cessna 182Js and 208Bs, PC-6/B2-H4s, and a Dornier Do 28G-92 Skyservant. Austrian Air Force PC-6/B2-H2 Turbo-Porter parachute training. Photo credit: www.milak.at. Austria has also ordered six AW169B Lion helicopters from Italy for training use, 12 AW169MA Lion light attack variants, and 18 AW169M Lion troop transports. These will replace most older helicopters currently in service, with deliveries to be completed by 2028. Nine aircraft have been received so far. Colonel Arthur Bennett took command of Jagdkommando in June 2024. Photo credits: BMLV/Daniel Trippolt, and Austrian Armed Forces. On June 27, 2024, Colonel Arthur Bennett, age 44, took command of the Jagdkommando. He was a previous graduate of the Jagdkommando Basic Course, served as a lieutenant in the Jagdkommando in 2004, and in various, related functions and foreign missions until 2010. After an assignment as a planning officer in Brussels for four years, he returned to the Jagdkommando from 2014 to 2016, then completed the General Staff Course, and served in the Federal Ministry of Defense until 2024. Colonel Horst Hofer, former Jagdkommando commander, 2017. He was promoted to brigadier general in 2020, and now commands the 7th Jäger Brigade. Photo credit: Austrian Armed Forces. Jagdkommando manpower is estimated at 400 operators, including at least one woman, since 2012, as a reported dog handler for the unit. She was also valuable for deception operations during hostage rescues or intelligence operations. They’re organized into two Special Operations Task Groups of nearly 100 operators each, plus a reserve group, and additional staff members. A typical, Jagdkommando team consists of six operators: the team leader, the team sergeant, a weapons sergeant/sniper, engineer sergeant, medic sergeant, and communication sergeant. Each team is assigned to one insertion specialty, such as freefall parachuting, amphibious, mountain, or high-mobility operations.   Jagdkommando operator from during Exercise Night Hawk 21, 2021. The night-vision goggles are Greek Theon 3D models. Photo credit: Reddit.   Jagdkommando with specially camouflaged Steyr AUG A3 SF. Photo credit: de.arms.wikia.com. In the near future, Jagdkommando’s greatest challenge will be in the area of human resources, since there are fewer candidates who make it through the selection process, or the basic, Jagdkommando course. One operator, nicknamed Charlie, noted that, “The will is the be-all and end-all. We need strong-willed people. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing…if you’re hungry or tired – you have to stand above it…Because it’s cool, because you experience adventures and are part of an elite unit that sticks together all the more strongly, the more difficult the assignment is.” For those who can meet their exceptionally high standards, Jagdkommando remains the single, elite, special operations unit and spearhead of the Austrian Armed Forces, with the highest level of operational readiness, and the inspiring motto of Numquam Retro in Latin, or “Never Retreat!”