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EKO Cobra

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This article is about the Austrian counter-terrorism unit. For the EKO Cobra guitar, see Eko guitars.
EKO Cobra
Cobra01.png
Patch of EKO Cobra
Active 1978–present
Country Austria
Branch Austrian Federal Police
Type Special Forces
Role Domestic Law Enforcement and Counter-Terrorism
Size 450 operatives
Garrison/HQ Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Nickname As Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando: GEK
As Einsatzkommando Cobra: EKO

EKO Cobra (Einsatzkommando Cobra) is Austria's foremost counter-terrorism special operations tactical unit.[1][2][3] It is not part of the Austrian Federal Police but is directly under the control of the Austrian Federal Ministry for the Interior.

Contents

[edit] History

Two members of EKO Cobra in operational loadout.

The Einsatzkommando Cobra, formerly known as GEK (Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando) was formed in 1978, primarily as a response to the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Its main office is in Wiener Neustadt, with sub-offices in Graz and Linz and Innsbruck.

The Federal Ministry of Interior changed the unit's name from GEK to EKO Cobra in 2002.

The 450 men (1 woman) of EKO Cobra are a well trained counter-terrorist commando unit and have trained with some of the most elite special forces units.

[edit] Known Operations

The EKO Cobra was involved in a hostage rescue in the Graz-Karlau Prison in 1996 and numerous other operations. Although it has never participated in the same type of hostage rescues that GIGN, GIS, GSG 9 and the SAS have[citation needed], the EKO Cobra is the only[citation needed] Counter-Terrorism unit to end a hijacking while the plane was still in the air: On 17 October 1996, 4 Cobra officers were on board an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 escorting deported prisoners to Lagos when a Nigerian man threatened the cockpit crew with a knife and demanded a diversion to Germany or South Africa. The team overpowered the man and handed him over to the authorities after landing. The officers received a decoration by Russian prime minister Putin.

[edit] Recruitment and training

Any member of the Austrian Federal Police may apply for the EKO Cobra. The tests consist of medical examinations, psychological tests and vigorous physical tests. Upon successful completion of the tests the recruits attend 6 months of specialized training which includes marksmanship, tactical training, sports, driver courses, abseiling/rappelling, hand-to-hand combat, language classes, etc. Besides the courses taught in the basic training, further specialization is possible in fields, such as parachuting, diving, explosives or sniping. .[4]

Since its establishment in 1978 1,140 officers (1 female) have served in EKO Cobra.[5]

[edit] Organization

Locations of the EKO Cobra in Austria.

The units headquarter is located in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria). It performs all administrative activities as well as the training for the EKO Cobra officers. Further departments exist in Vienna, Graz, Linz and Innsbruck as well as small field offices in Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Feldkirch. Each department contains four teams while each field office contains two. This structure allows the units to be deployed anywhere in Austria in less than 70 minutes.[6]

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Weapons

An officer of the Austrian counter-terrorism unit EKO Cobra handling a Steyr AUG rifle during an airborne operation (the aircraft is a Bell 206B Jet Ranger).

EKO Cobra is armed mainly with Austrian-produced weaponry. For example, in line with other Austrian executive bodies, they are equipped with the Steyr AUG (military designation: StG 77) assault rifle and the Glock 17 semi-automatic 9x19mm Parabellum pistol. Their sniper rifle of choice is the Steyr SSG 69 (SD).

Depending on the situation, they also use the 9mm Steyr TMP machine pistol (another Austrian weapon), the Franchi SPAS-12, the Heckler & Koch M512 shotgun, the Remington 870, the MP5A3, the Heckler & Koch MP7, the Glock 18 machine pistol or the MZP-1 40 mm grenade launcher.

[edit] Special equipment

EKO Cobra use a variety of equiment designed for a variety of situations.

  • Protective gear made of kevlar or ceramic
  • Balaclavas
  • Camouflage suits
  • Tonfa batons
  • OC sprays

[edit] Uniforms

EKO Cobra officers wear the uniform of the Austrian Federal Police with certain distinctions:

  • Maroon beret to indicate their elite status
  • The unit's insignia are worn instead of the police insignia
  • The rank insignia's background is black instead of red as from the regular Federal Police uniforms

During tactical operations the officers wear grey or black coveralls along with their tactical gear.

[edit] WEGA

Austria's capital city, Vienna, has its own counter-terrorist SWAT team, called WEGA (Wiener Einsatzgruppe Alarmabteilung; in English: Viennese Special Task Force Alarm Section) which is equally trained and capable of handling serious situations such as hostage taking.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/Austria/Default.html
  2. ^ http://www.specwarnet.net/europe/gek.htm
  3. ^ http://mycountryonline.com/about/GEK.htm
  4. ^ Spiegel TV Spezial: Einsatzkommando Cobra - Ausbildung einer Elite-Einheit. Fernsehreportage, 2006
  5. ^ http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/BMI_OeffentlicheSicherheit/2008/05_06/files/30_Jahre_Eko_Cobra.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.faz.net/s/Rub77CAECAE94D7431F9EACD163751D4CFD/Doc~E6D884ACEEFC148CCB67BF2E7866D53E5~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

[edit] External links
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