On 10 September 2021, six F-16Cs from Spangdahlem's 480th Fighter Squadron arrived at Leeuwarden air base (Netherlands).
The 480th Fighter Squadron Warhawks, part of the 52nd Fighter Wing, will take part in a new phase of the Dutch Weapon Instructor Course (WIC). This new phase, which will include the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), will be used to integrate 4th and 5th Generation fighter aircraft during various scenarios.
In total 24 students from the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway will be trained as weapons instructors from 3 May 2021 until 22 October 2021.
For the first time, not only pilots, but also officers from other service fields, like Intel and Air Defence are taking part in the university-level course. It is expected that the Spangdahlem F-16s will be leaving Leeuwarden on Friday 17 September.
The following SP coded 480th FS F-16Cs are now present:
Photo by Roberto Cassar / credit patch via Rob Loonstra