From Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands, Kees van der Mark reports on the latest edition of the multinational F-16 Fighter Weapons Instructor Training course.
![FWIT [Kees van der Mark] #1](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/styles/article_body/public/inline-images/01%20FWIT.jpg?itok=NRgVLUrm)
During the second part of the course, F-16s flown by FWIT students could frequently be seen carrying (inert) bombs of various types. RNLAF F-16AM J-631 (6D-63, FMS 80-3631) from 322 TACTESS carries a concrete-filled 500lb GBU-12 laser-guided bomb, as well as AIM-120B training missiles, an AN/ALQ-131(V) jamming pod and an AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod. All photos Kees van der Mark
Fighter Weapons Instructor Training (FWIT) is a demanding, almost seven-month course held every two years, designed to take experienced F-16 pilots from the European Participating Air Forces (EPAF) and turn them into weapons instructors (WIs). EPAF is made up of the five European air arms that operate the Mid-Life Update (MLU) version of the F-16A/B: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, which all originally acquired this jet in the late 1970s, plus Portugal, which started flying the F-16 in 1994 and joined EPAF in 2001.
