As a defence attaché in Brussels, Group Captain Justin Fowler has been working with the Belgian and Luxembourg military to coordinate logistics surrounding the training of pilots and loadmasters for the Airbus A400M military planes the two countries have acquired--one of which will bear the Luxembourg flag.

The UK has bought 22 A400Ms, 20 of which have been delivered, and was one of the first countries to receive the new planes. “So, we’re fairly well ahead on introducing them into service and getting it flying. We have a fairly large outfit with trainers and simulators at RAF Brize Norton,” says Fowler. The simulators are both for flight crew and cargo crew, allowing the latter to practice loading and unloading. “There’s quite a technical side to loading an aircraft, it’s not quite like a lorry.”

There are currently two Belgian instructors at the UK base who are overseeing the training, though so far none of the intended Luxembourg crew of 3 pilots and 3 loadmasters have yet been through the programme. But two UK pilots and loadmasters will soon arrive at Melsbroek Air Base outside Brussels to train the Belgian and Luxembourg crews. “So, it’s a growing relationship, and one of our leading relationships, air force to air force.”

For the grand duchy the purchase of the A400M was a major decision. The original plan was clouded by political debate over cost and now, unfortunately, the Luxembourg plane is stranded in Seville, where the aircraft are assembled with wings built in the UK and fuselage in Germany. “It's big purchase and the start of an air component, which Luxembourg’s never had before. So, it’s quite exciting, I would imagine,” the group captain adds.

Incredibly modern aircraft

Fowler is clearly a fan of the capabilities of the A400M. Even though it is “what we call medium lift…with turbo prop engines”, it has a bigger capacity of the Hercules, which it replaces in the UK. “It does a bit of everything. It’s an incredibly modern aircraft with huge capabilities. It can fly long distance, but it can still do the short and arduous landings. It can land on short strips, on rough gravel or whatever in parts of Africa when delivering aid. And in the UK, we recently tested it landing on a beach at Pembery sands.”

An RAF A400M lands on a beach at Pembery sands. Photo: RAF

Fowler says he signed up for the Royal Air Force quite simply because he always loved flying. "So I joined against the advice of a lot of people in my family, if I’m honest." By the time he completed a year of flying training, Fowler did not get through to the next stage. But he had so enjoyed his time in the Royal Air Force--"the organisation, the ethos, the other people"--that he looked for another role within the force. He ended up as a personnel officer, which involves a broad range of work and has seen him take up different postings around the world. “You become quite nomadic really, and I quite enjoy that.” He has worked in Kuwait, where he was the UK liaison officer with the host nation and the USAF as well as holding media engagement responsibilities. He also spent a year in Australia studying on the Advanced Command and Staff Course in Canberra.

In addition, he has delivered a project with the Joint Counter Narcotics Centre in Whitehall, working with the FCO and other international organisations. This included a short period in the British embassy in Kabul, providing military advice and strategic planning on counter narcotics operations. “That was fascinating, looking at the drivers that lead farmers to grow poppy and leads the provinces to accept or resist it, and what other trades they can follow rather than drugs.”

Justin Fowler has been the UK Defence Attaché to Belgium and Luxembourg since May 2019. Photo: Matic Zorman

More recently, in 2018, Fowler led a highly successful MOD people project to introduce flexible working for the armed forces. This necessitated taking a bill through parliament to achieve the necessary legislative change, as well as complex and challenging negotiations with the three services, lawyers and other stakeholders to deliver this strategic change (a government mandate) on time and under budget.

Trade opportunities

His current role is to build and maintain relationships with Belgian and Luxembourg at defence level. He also helps the embassies look for trade opportunities. “The UK has a big defence industry and Luxembourg has its specialisations in satellites and various other things.” He also assists in the commemoration and remembrance aspects.

But Fowler also looks at opportunities to do things together, either through Nato or UN missions or bilaterally as in the case of the A400M. Fowler understands that Luxembourg finds it difficult to meet military spending targets set by Nato’s Wales Declaration, which required members to spend 2% of GDP on defence, and 20% of that on new equipment. “I think its struggles as a nation to see the value in its defence. But the A400M is the sort of military capability that, flying the Luxembourg badged aircraft and delivering aid and supporting humanitarian causes, sits neatly with Luxembourg’s position and I would hope it’s something the Luxembourg population could feel proud about.”