NO(^30) THE MAGAZINE 01 31
SCANDINAVIAN
AVIATION MAGAZINE
The joint fighter pilot program
For more than 35 years, many NATO countries
have joined forces to build the world’s best fighter
pilot training program: the Euro-NATO Joint Jet
Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT).
Sheppard Air Force Base (AFB) is home of the
80th Flying Training Wing (FTW), which hosts the
ENJJPT, a multi-national flying training program
with a mission to produce the best combat pilots
for NATO, as well as build relationships between
the NATO countries.
The start of ENJJPT
It all started in 1973, when a group of European
NATO nations began to examine the possibilities
and costs of conducting a consolidated
undergraduate flying training program. This
was initiated due to the rapidly rising costs
of pilot training, and the need to improve the
interoperability of the NATO air forces. The much
restricted airspace, and the lack of continuously
good weather, was another thing that the
participating countries also hoped to solve with
this initiative.
The United States joined the group in 1974,
where the United Kingdom, United States, Italy,
Turkey and Canada all proposed a plan to host
the joint undergraduate pilot training program. A
thorough review of all the proposals showed that
the United States, with Sheppard AFB and the
80th FTW located in Texas, could offer the best
combination of good flying weather, adequate
training airspace, existing facilities and growth
potential to accommodate the proposed annual
requirements.
Sheppard got chosen
In 1978, the United States was formally selected
to host the ENJJPT program for a 10 year
period, as a short term solution, while studies on
relocation to a European base continued.
Following the selection of the United States
to host ENJJPT, a multi-national group visited
Sheppard AFB to survey the facilities and
organization of the 80th FTW, which was already
conducting undergraduate pilot training for the
German and Dutch air forces.
In June 1980, US Secretary of Defense, Harold
Brown, announced the selection of Sheppard AFB
as the site for the proposed program, and the
Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program held
its official opening ceremony on Oct. 23, 1981.
The initial 10 year hosting period of the program
at Sheppard AFB has been extended multiple
times throughout the years, and is now extended
through 2026, with no current plans of relocating
ENJJPT.