Seventy-seven British Army paratroopers from 16 Air Assault Brigade took part in Exercise Falcon Leap 2025 in the Netherlands, supported by Royal Air Force transport aircraft and instructors, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The soldiers, drawn from across the brigade, conducted static-line parachute jumps on 20 September under the supervision of RAF Parachute Jump Instructors. The jumps were carried out from a 70 Squadron Airbus A400M Atlas, crewed by personnel from 30 Squadron and deployed from RAF Brize Norton. Eindhoven Air Base hosted the RAF detachment for the duration of the exercise.
Among those taking part was Lieutenant General John Mead, Deputy Commander of NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum, who joined the British paratroopers at the head of the static line before exiting the A400M during the training serial.
Falcon Leap, organised by the Royal Netherlands Army’s 11 Air Mobile Brigade, ran from 8 to 20 September and brought together forces from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the United States and France. The exercise focuses on air mobility and airborne operations, including personnel drops, cargo delivery and multinational coordination of air transport missions.
Transport aircraft used during the exercise included the Airbus A400M Atlas, Lockheed C-130 Hercules, and CASA C-295/CN-235. Eindhoven Air Base served as the logistics hub, managing fuel, loading operations and staging areas for paratroopers before flights to designated drop zones such as Ginkelse Heide and Marnewaard.
