To be able to fight together, NATO air forces have to train together. With this in mind, AIRCENT set up a training programme in the late 1970s designed to improve the way central region air forces would conduct joint operations. This led to the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the Central Region nations : Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The first TLP course was held at Fürstenfeldbruck AB, Germany in January 1978 and consisted of two weeks of seminars during which the participants discussed tactics and procedures. Seventeen courses were organised at Fürstenfeldbruck before the TLP moved to Jever AB, in Sep tember 1979. At this new base, the courses were extended to four weeks to include both a seminar phase and a flying phase. During nearly ten years of presence at Jever, 71 courses were held during which 1,916 aircrew were trained. The last TLP course was held at this northern German base in December 1988.

That year, the German government requested the TLP to be moved to another location due to three reasons : a) the increase in the number of sorties and the associated growth in jet noise, b) the intensive low-level flying over Germany, and c) the planned introduction of the Tornado ECR at Jever.

Florennes air base in Belgium was chosen as the new home of the TLP. The base had just witnessed the departure of the USAF 485th Tactical Missile Wing and its cruise missiles which left ample spaces and infrastructures available. Additionally, its central location in Europe allowed missions to be easily conducted over Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France. In that way, the low-flying burden could be shared by these countries. The first TLP course was held at Florennes in March 1989.

Although originally a Central Region exercise, the TLP has now expanded to include participants from the other regions of Europe: Denmark and Italy became full members in January 1996 by signing the MoU and France and Spain each assigned a liaison officer to the TLP staff in June 1997. On the down side, Canada withdrew from the MoU in January 1997 due to the return home of its European-based fighter squadrons. This permitted more guest slots to be available to countries like Spain and France. Canada has kept a liaison officer in Florennes though.

Credits to Gilles Denis