Under the direct control of Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Eko Cobra is the main counter-terrorism special operations tactical unit of Austria. With over 450 operatives, the unit was founded in 1978 shortly after the Munich Olympics in 1972, when Israeli athletes were attacked. Headquarters are located in Wiener Neustadt.
The unit was involved in numerous operations, including the hostage rescue mission in the Graz Karlau Prison in 1996, but never participated in the same type of hostage rescue mission like other special forces from other countries. On 17th October 1996 the unit was successfully nullified the threat of hijacking of a plane in mid-air, during the prisoner escort to Lagos. The officers received medals by the Russian Prime minister Putin after the incident.
Any police officer from Austrian Federal Police may apply for the Eko Cobra. After careful screening and tests of medical examinations, psychological test and physical tests, the trainees undergo 6 months worth of training to further hone their skills of marksmanship, tactical training, hand-to-hand combat, languages and as well as parachuting, diving and many more. Since its creation in 1978, the unit had more than 1200 members.
The Eko Cobra mainly use Austrian produced weapons and rarely foreign imported arms.
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