The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force has hosted a Multinational Weapons Instructor Course at Leeuwarden Air Base, NATO’s Allied Air Command stated.
The course ran from 6 to 10 July and brought together 24 students from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, including fighter pilots, intelligence officers, air battle managers, tactical airlift crews and ground-based air defence personnel. According to Allied Air Command, students flew intensive training missions from Leeuwarden, conducting up to three daily waves involving as many as 20 aircraft.
The exercises featured Dutch and Danish F-35 fighters and Finnish F/A-18 aircraft, alongside commercial “red air” adversary support playing the enemy. NATO said participants were trained to integrate advanced air capabilities and command multinational operations in increasingly contested environments. Following the Dutch phase, the course continues in Norway.
According to Allied Air Command, the Weapons Instructor Course develops weapons instructors among the most highly qualified tactical specialists in NATO air forces, who return to their national units to train others and lead future multinational air operations. Students learn to plan and command Large Force Employment missions involving several aircraft, integrating fifth-generation fighters, intelligence, command and control, electronic warfare and ground-based air defence.
NATO described the programme as reflecting its increasing emphasis on interoperability, with allies seeking to strengthen collective readiness in a rapidly evolving security environment. By training together and using common platforms such as the F-35, the participating nations aim to improve their ability to operate together during alliance missions.
Leeuwarden Air Base has served as a centre for advanced air warfare training since the 1950s and hosts the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s Weapons School. According to NATO, the base runs the Weapons Instructor Course every two years, and the programme has evolved into a multinational effort supporting NATO interoperability and preparing allied personnel for coalition air operations. The spread of the F-35 across European air forces has made courses of this kind increasingly cross-national, with the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium all operating or introducing the type.
