On May 18, 19 & 20th 2021, the exercise Weapon Instructor Standardization took place. This training was organized by the Dutch Defense helicopter Command (DHC). The goal of this training is to keep the skills annually up to date as a Weapons Instructor (WI) for the DHC helicopter crews. The training took place on two different landing zones in the Maas and Waal area near the villages of Rijswijk and Wijk bij Duurstede in the Dutch Betuwe area.
Helicopters crews were selected in the recent past to become weapon instructors by participating in the Helicopter Weapon Instructor Course (HWIC). Helicopter crews of the 298 Squadron flying the CH-47D/F Chinook and of the 300 Squadron flying the AS532U2 Cougar, consists of both pilots and load masters. For the AH-64D Apache crews of the 301 Squadron only pilots are selected as they don’t have load masters on board. The goal is that the qualified weapon instructors will train their colleagues at their own squadrons. During this training one mission is flown per day. The crews will make a tactical landing in a field and experience an enemy treat at this location. During this training it was the first time that the CH-47F MYII CAAS Chinook took part in a training like this in the Netherlands. Also this is a nice milestone for the 298 Squadron which started to fly these brand new Chinooks from Gilze-Rijen just a few weeks before this training. Also PC-7 training aircraft assigned to 131 (EMVO) Squadron from Woensdrecht took part in the training. The PC-7 Turbo Trainers had to attack the participating helicopter formations. This threat was an extra dimension in the training for the helicopter crews.
This is a subscription only section
Want to read more? It's only €10/year.
No account yet? Just Create an account first and head to the shop