Gilze-Rijen & Deelen 2018
From the archive: photographed in October 2018, published in 2026.
On 3 October 2018 I joined another KNVOL excursion, and what a day it turned out to be: two air bases in one go! We started at Gilze-Rijen, only a few months after APROC 2018, and then headed to Deelen to watch a big exercise in full swing 🚁
Falcon Autumn 2018
That autumn the Netherlands hosted Falcon Autumn, the biggest military exercise in the country that year. Over a month, Dutch and German air assault troops trained together with helicopters and transport aircraft, playing out a scenario in which a NATO ally is attacked. Deelen Air Base was the beating heart of it all, with helicopters parked everywhere and the exercise headquarters on site.
Among all the helicopters on the base were the Apaches, rotors turning and ready to cover the landing zones for the air assault troops. And we had a front-row seat ✈️
Pathfinders from the sky
High up in a clear blue sky, a C-130 Hercules of the Royal Netherlands Air Force came in nice and slow. Moments later the first canopies popped open: Pathfinders of the Air Assault Brigade, practising a free-fall jump they would repeat that same night above a training area up north. Watching them drift down so calmly is just beautiful 🪂
Special delivery
Then the Hercules was back for round two: a cargo drop. In a couple of low runs, pallets full of supplies left the back of the aircraft and floated down under huge green parachutes, landing right on the field. Supplies by air, delivered to the doorstep 📦
It was a long but awesome day, and a great look behind the scenes of how our armed forces train together. Thanks again to the KNVOL for organising it!
Enjoy! ✨