Combat aircraft

T

HE HIGH COST of national fast

jet training programs led to

a number of NATO countries

examining options for a joint

solution. The  rst evaluation

of potential methods and

the budgetary implications associated

with consolidating undergraduate  ying

training began in 1973. It was triggered

not only by the ever-increasing

resources needed to support such

activities and the inability to justify

purely local training, but also by a need

to improve interoperability between

NATO air forces. Relatively restricted

airspace and the unpredictable north

European weather were other major

driving factors.

In 1974, Canada, Italy, Turkey, the UK

and the US launched a plan to host a joint

undergraduate pilot training program.

A thorough review followed and led to

Sheppard AFB in Texas, and its resident

80th Flying Training Wing, being judged

to o er the best option. This was thanks

to a combination of good  ying weather,

NATO countries joined forces to help create one of the world’s

leading fi ghter pilot training programs — Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot

Training (ENJJPT) at Sheppard AFB, Texas.

REPORT AND PHOTOS Søren Nielsen

30 March 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

30-41 ENJPTS C.indd 30 19/01/2018 11:09