The Weapons Instructor Course (WIC), Leeuwarden; F-16AM Fighting Falcon & F-35A Lightning II

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The Weapons Instructor Course (WIC) is the training to become a weapons instructor. The training lasts within 6 months. Only the most talented and experienced pilots and officers are allowed to follow the training. Participants in 2021 will come from Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. The WIC takes place from May 3 to October 22.

The Weapons Instructor Training arose immediately after the Second World War. At that time, experienced Dutch fighter pilots were trained as shooting instructors at Leeuwarden Air Base. The shooting instructor grew into a tactical all-rounder; later known as a weapons instructor. The F-16 arrived in the early 1980s. The testing of the F-16s was then in the hands of the EPAF (European Participating Air Forces), a partnership of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway. Later, this alliance established the School of Weapons Instructor Training. In 1983 the first training was held and the Northern European Air Forces received their first F-16 weapons instructors. In 2001, Portugal joined the EPAF alliance. Nowadays officers from other service sectors are also admitted to the training. Previously, only pilots could become weapons instructors. From 2021, Patriot operators, intelligence officers and air combat controllers will also be trained as instructors.

The training consists of 3 parts: the air-to-air phase, the air-to-surface phase and the mission employment phase. Each part has its own theory part where pilots take place in the old-fashioned way in the school benches. The first phase, which is shown in this video, runs until the summer break. In the air-to-air phase, the pilot's knowledge is expanded with, for example, special knowledge about tactics and weapon systems. They also learn about giving instructions to others and psychology. With this they learn how best to teach to other pilots and what differences there are in people types and learning styles. The Belgian F-16 with serial FA-130 in this video crashed one week later during the start up of the aircraft in the shelter area. During start up the aircraft activated due to an unknown reason its afterburner and the pilot ejected safely. The aircraft was lost as it was smashed into a building on the opposite site of the taxi track.


Click here to see the WIC participants