MILITARY KONINKLIJKE LUCHTMACHT F-16
personnel from each nation start the course
with their own aircraft, the over 130 ground
crew are eventually pooled together to cross-
service any one of the 16 jets. With a planned
total of 300 missions the aircraft must be
used as ef ciently as possible. Instructors
and student pilots all have special clearance
to operate each other’s aircraft and weapon
systems and will y whichever aircraft is
available. A record number of 16 student pilots
is participating in this year’s FWIT, ve Dutch,
four Belgian, two Danish, three Norwegian
and two Portuguese, plus an equal number of
instructor pilots from all ve nations.FWIT selection
Seats are only reserved for the very best pilots
and the FWIT selection process is dif cult.
Squadrons select candidates who must be
endorsed by the ops-of cer and squadron
commander. The FWIT staff has no say in
the matter. Standards among the different
air forces are the same and professional
judgment at squadron level is relied upon.
As Major Nick explained: “The selection
process is a tough one. Beside the of cial
quali cations of a preferred minimum of
1,000 ight hours (500 hours are the absolute
minimum) and being quali ed as a four-ship
ight-lead, we are looking for guys that t in
the programme. This means they are aboveaverage pilots, have a positive attitude
towards learning and have a talent for giving
instructions. As the programme requires being
away from home for almost seven months
you really have to want this and you should be
capable of handling extreme levels of stress.”
Students are continually assessed during the
course and can be expelled at any stage. At
the time of writing, at the end of the air-to-
air phase, nobody had failed. A weapons
of cer’s task is a tough one because they
serve as the squadron’s expert on tactics and
weapon systems. Because of their knowledge
they are jokingly referred to as ‘masters in
F-16 science’. The maintenance of tactical
standards, advising on tactical subjects
related to speci c operational areas to the
pilots and the squadron commander and the
upgrading of syllabuses for training ight-leads
and mission quali cations all come within
their remit. They are not only expert combat
leaders, but also teachers for both new and
experienced pilots within the squadrons.Training structure
Once selected for the course, student pilots
prepare at their home bases in the weeks
prior to ying to Leeuwarden. Potential
student pilots practice getting in the right
mindset; focusing on the smallest details,
doing all their brie ngs and debrie ngsin English and following all procedures
according to FWIT protocols. This prepares
the candidates in the best possible way and
provides a level playing eld for the pilots
from the different participating air forces once
they arrive at Leeuwarden.
The FWIT course consists of three ying
phases: air-to-air, air-to-ground and mission
employment (or mission integration). The
air-to-air (or air combat) phase, which
always takes place at Leeuwarden, ran from
the beginning of May until July 14, when
all crews returned home for a month-long
summer break. This phase consisted of basic
ghter manoeuvres followed by air combat
manoeuvring, tactical intercepts and nally air
combat training. Air combat events started
with one-on-one ghts and gradually built
up to a scenario of four against four aircraft.
As in previous courses, friendly air forces
acted as Red air during the air combat phase- F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath
and Luftwaffe EF-2000 Euro ghters from
Laage and Wittmund Air Bases ew several
missions. Red air newcomers to this year’s
FWIT were four L-159E ALCAs operated by
Draken International, which arrived from the
United States on June 22 and returned to
Nellis Air Force Base on July 12. As Major
Nick stated: “Because of the amount of
missions own the demand for the necessary
Koninklijke Luchtmacht F-16s taxi to
the runway at Leeuwarden for an air-
to-air mission loaded with CATM-120
AMRAAM training rounds.