EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the
police tactical unit
A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...
of the Austrian
Federal Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
. EKO Cobra is not part of the
Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
History
The roots of the EKO Cobra lie in the ''Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando Bad Vöslau'' that was originally formed by the regional police authority of
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
to protect
East European Jews during their migration via Austria to Israel against terrorist threats. As the tactical skills of this unit were welcome in other fields, too, the mission of the ''Gendarmerieeinsatzkommando'' became broader in the course of years, and it climbed the hierarchy, from being a regional unit to becoming assigned directly to the ''Generaldirektion für öffentliche Sicherheit'', the leading authority for
public security
Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...
within the Ministry of the Interior.
The name ''Cobra'' was coined by the press. It was a reference to the US TV series ''
Mission: Impossible'', which was aired in German under the title ''Kobra, übernehmen Sie''. It first appeared in June 1973 in the ''
Kronen Zeitung
The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic.
History
The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, ...
''.
The determining step of founding today's Cobra as a unit of the Ministry of the Interior rather than a regional police unit was done in 1978, primarily as a response to the
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
attack on
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i athletes at the
1972 Munich Olympics. Its main office is in
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
, with sub-offices in
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
,
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
,
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
, and
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
. GSG-9 and Sayeret Matkal trained the first operators of the GEK.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior changed the unit's name from GEK to EKO Cobra in 2002.
The 450 men of EKO Cobra have trained with some of the most elite
special forces
Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
units.
Known operations
EKO Cobra was involved in a hostage rescue in the
Graz-Karlau Prison
Graz-Karlau Prison (german: Justizanstalt Graz-Karlau) is located in Gries, the 5th district of the city of Graz, capital of the Austrian state of Styria. With a capacity of 552 inmates, Graz-Karlau is the third-largest prison in Austria.
His ...
in 1996, and numerous other operations. Although it has never participated in the same type of
hostage rescue
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
operations that the
HRT,
GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (suc ...
,
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...
,
NSG,
ERU
Eru may refer to:
People
*Eru (singer) (born 1983), Korean singer
*Eru Potaka-Dewes (1939–2009), New Zealand actor
*Syd Eru (born 1971), New Zealand rugby player
Other uses
* Eru (soup), a Cameroonian soup
* Eru (vegetable), a tropical Afri ...
,
GSG 9
, formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''(Bundespolizei (Germany), Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Special Deployment Commando, Spezialein ...
, and the
SAS have had, the EKO Cobra is the only Counter-Terrorism unit to end a hijacking while the aircraft was still in the air. On 17 October 1996, four Cobra officers were on board an
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...
escorting deported prisoners to
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
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 authorities after landing.
In the course of the
2006 Lebanon War
The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...
EKO Cobra assisted in the evacuation of Austrians and other EU citizens from Lebanon.
135 EKO Cobra operatives together with units of the
Austrian Armed Forces
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...
were involved in the search for Alois Huber in the
Annaberg shooting, who killed three police officers and one
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
EMT on 17 September 2013, in Lower Austria.
In 2016, 42 officers supported the German Police in the
Munich shooting.
In 2017, 20 EKO Cobra operatives were directly involved to end the severe riots in the
Schanzenviertel area during the
G20 Hamburg summit, three operatives were wounded.
EKO Cobra also is assisting in the manhunt of the remaining suspect who was involved in the
2020 Vienna attack
The 2020 Vienna attack was a series of shootings that occurred on 2 November 2020 in Vienna, Austria. A few hours before the city was to enter a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lone gunman started shooting in the busy city centre. Four c ...
.
Recruitment and training
Any member of the Austrian Federal Police may apply to 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.
[Spiegel TV Spezial: ''Einsatzkommando Cobra - Ausbildung einer Elite-Einheit.'' Fernsehreportage, 2006.]
Since its establishment in 1978, 1,140 officers have served in EKO Cobra.
Organization
The unit's headquarters is located in
Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
(
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
). It performs all administrative activities and the training for the EKO Cobra officers. Further departments exist in Vienna, Graz, Linz, and Innsbruck with small field offices in Klagenfurt, Salzburg, and Feldkirch.
Each department contains four teams and each field office contains two. This structure allows the units to be deployed anywhere in Austria in under 70 minutes.
On 1 April 2013, EKO Cobra was merged in the newly established Special Operations Directorate - DSE (''Direktion für Spezialeinheiten ''). This organisation serves as a unified command for the units with special tasks of the
Austrian Federal Police.
Further units of the DSE are the police's
bomb disposal units, the observation units and special investigative units.
Equipment
Weapons
EKO Cobra is armed mainly with
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n weaponry, but sometimes foreign-produced arms are used too.
Special equipment
EKO Cobra use a variety of equipment designed for a variety of situations.
*
Protective gear
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
made of
kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
or ceramic
*
Balaclavas
*
Camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
suits
*
Tonfa
The ''tonfa'' ( Okinawan: , lit. ''old man's staff'' / ''"crutch"''), also spelled as ''tongfa'' or ''tuifa'', also known as T-baton is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts. It consists of a stick ...
batons
*
OC sprays
Uniforms
EKO Cobra officers wear the uniform of the
Austrian Federal Police with certain modifications:
* Maroon beret to indicate their elite status
* The unit's insignia is 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 green or black coveralls along with their tactical gear.
Annual Warrior Competition
EKO Cobra competed in the 2011
Annual Warrior Competition
The Annual Warrior Competition is a combat-oriented competition that is based on physical ability, teamwork, communication and individual accuracy which takes place at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC) in Amman, Jo ...
winning top honors.
EKO Cobra defeated a
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
13th MEU and a joint team from
U.S. Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army.
The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...
5th Group and
Jordan SFG 101 among many others.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Official website
{{Law enforcement in Austria
1978 establishments in Austria
ATLAS Network
Military units and formations established in 1978
Non-military counterterrorist organizations
Police tactical units
Protective security units
Special forces of Austria
Specialist law enforcement agencies of Austria