Where NATO’s fighter pilots are born

There’s something that fighter pilots from Belgium, Denmark, Germany and 11 other NATO Allies have in common: their flying careers started in Texas, USA. That’s where the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) programme has been training pilots since the early 80s, when a number of countries decided to found the programme at Sheppard Air Force Base. While conceived of as a cost-saving measure, giving Allies the chance to pool resources in the resource-intensive task of training new fighter pilots, this training has since become a place for students and instructors to pass on tactics and form multinational relationships that will span their careers. Allies contributing to this training are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States. Throughout the course, students learn the fundamentals of flight, progressing from ground school to the prop-driven T-6 Texan trainer - and finally to