KONINKLIJKE LUCHTMACHT F-16 MILITARY
Red air is large as we are trained to fly Blue
air missions, which is a totally different
game. By using Blue air capacity as Red
air, we put too much pressure on the limited
number of aircraft and crews at the different
squadrons.”
Air-to-ground operations started on
August 14 with students flying basic range
missions, followed by basic surface attack
and opposed surface attack.
In October, mission integration, the final
phase will take place at Main Air Station
Bodø in Norway where pilots will combine
all of the techniques and tactics taught
throughout the course. The integration phase
focuses on coordination with other air and
ground assets in a complex environment.
Norway was chosen because there are fewer
noise abatement problems than over the
densely populated Netherlands and for the
availability of low-flying areas.
At the graduation ceremony planned for
November 9, graduates will remove the
FWIT patch from their left arm and put the
much-desired blue weapons instructor patch
on the right.
TWIC
Another first for this year’s FWIT is the
participation of Dutch C-130 Hercules pilots
from 336 Squadron, based at Eindhoven.
Four pilots are enrolled in the first Transport
Weapons Instructor Course (TWIC) with the
aim of being the first weapon instructors in
the KLU C-130 community. Pilots will learn
how to complete missions safely using fire
support from fighter aircraft. Integration
of the heavies into the main FWIT course
shares the knowledge of both communities
and gives participants an insight into the
problems and requirements of their air
transport colleagues. Major Darryl, both
supervisor and student at the same time,
seemed to be pleased with the new joint
weapons instructor course. His adage is
“We either do it or don’t.” The four C-130
pilots in this TWIC include one American
and one Belgian exchange pilot. Just
like the FWIT participants only the best
pilots were selected to follow the course.
Cooperation with their US counterparts is of
the highest importance to the Dutch C-130
community. The idea of integrating airlift in
this year’s FWIT was the brainchild of the
two supervisors. Major Darryl explained:
“Evaluating the airlift mission we concluded
that 80-90% of the tactics are more or less
the same for both platforms, which was
an eye opener for all of us. The regular
European airlift programme does not offer
the necessary tactical training and therefore
we decided to start a joint course with the
F-16 community.” Two missions were flown
against F-16s during the air-to-air phase
where the Hercules was attacked and had
to defend itself. To maximize the lessons
learned, an F-16 pilot flew on the C-130
and a C-130 pilot flew in an F-16B. Both
sides agreed, and the transport crew was
pleased to learn, that downing a Hercules
with its protective countermeasures and
manoeuvrability is difficult. TWIC coincides
with FWIT for a short while when students for
both courses come together at Leeuwarden,
but for the rest of the programme TWIC
pilots fly from their home base.
All phases during FWIT and TWIC start
in the classroom. The air-to-air phase
started with a five-week academic course
at Leeuwarden with the C-130 pilots joining
for the first two weeks for so-called core
academics. Amongst the topics taught were
the infrared waveform, airborne radar and
the use of counter measures. C-130 pilots
flew five missions with F-16s during the
first phase. After the summer break the
air-to-ground phase again started with
a two-week academic course; C-130
pilots attended the first week. For
the final mission employment
phase in October the TWIC will
join for one week to fly low-
level night vision goggle
sorties. During the
integration stage one
of the participating
C-130 pilots
will also act
as missioncommander, bringing the FWIT and TWIC
together at peak integration. Both Majors
Darryl and Major Nick are quite clear about
the results so far: “Even though there is
still much to learn, we see that combining
the programmes and missions works very
well. Planning, executing and debriefing
provides us with an enormously steep
learning curve.” Although it’s still early
both supervisors hope the FWIT and TWIC
courses will be combined in the future.Future
The last FWIT course with the F-16MLU as
platform of choice is planned for 2019 - the
first F-35A Lightning IIs are planned to enter
service the same year. At the moment, the
KLU has decided not to integrate fourth
and fifth-generation fighter aircraft in a
combined course and will instead focus on
the implementation of the new jet. Hopefully
FWIT will continue and the first plans are
being made to start a joint weapons course
in 2021, together with the Norwegians who
are also working to implement the F-35. As
major Nick said: “This course is world class
in its quality and deserves continuation in the
future. The blue FWIT patch on the sleeve
not only represents its short-term value in the
squadron today, but also on the long term
as today’s fighter pilots become the decision
makers of tomorrow. They have acquired the
right knowledge and experience to make the
wisest decisions in the best interests of
the entire air force.”