Defense of Netherlands is expanding its workforce considerably in the coming years as they expect a total of 100,000 people to be employed In 2030. The armed forces are doing this by recruiting and hiring new Soldiers, Pilots and by deploying Reservists.
Working in that direction, KLM and the Dutch Ministry of Defense have today signed an agreement aimed at expanding their collaboration. The agreement includes allocating time for KLM pilots who, among other roles, wish to serve as reservists on the F35the fighter jet of the Dutch air force. The press release read,
For years, KLM and the armed forces have collaborated well in various domains such as repatriation, knowledge exchange, and support.
The agreement signed today is an important step towards closer cooperation between civil and military aviation in the Netherlands. Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM, and Gijs Tuinman, acting State Secretary of Defense, were present in Hangar 14 today to sign the agreement.
Worth mentioning here, it was accused that due to the shortage of pilots, KLM allegedly tried to approach military personnel who normally fly an F-35, F-16 or Apache, luring them into commercial aviation.
KLM is initially freeing up five full-time positions, which can be divided among more than five pilots. They will be given free rosters and sufficient rest to be fully trained to fly the F-35, for example, in addition to their work at the national airline.
KLM now employs eleven former F-35 pilots. They are all being asked whether they want to return to work for their former employers. It also needs to be determined what is needed to make the pilots fully deployable as fighter pilots. ' Current ' is what it is called in pilot jargon.
The deployment of pilots on other aircraft is also a possibility, although no agreements have been made about this yet. For example, both KLM and Defence fly Embraer aircraft.
"It is dual employment," State Secretary Gijs Tuinman of Defence told Rintel during the presentation in a KLM hangar at Schiphol. "They work partly for you and partly for me."
It is also hoped that technicians will be able to work on Boeings and fighter jets in the future. KLM and Defense hope that it will even help with recruitment.
Marjan Rintel said,
"We can bring in technicians together to deploy them together. That will make the pie bigger for all of us."
KLM pilots will also help the air force with the training and education of new military pilots. "They can be deployed in the simulator, or in the guidance of young F-35 pilots," according to BBB minister Tuinman.
State Secretary of Defense Gijs Tuinman praises KLM's proactive approach.
“The world around us has become less secure, and the challenges for the armed forces are significant. Cooperation with the business sector is therefore crucial, as we can help and strengthen each other. I am pleased with this step towards even closer collaboration that we are taking today with KLM to make the Netherlands more resilient.”
Marjan Rintel adds:
“I am proud that KLM can contribute to the resilience of the Netherlands in this way today. Through this expansion of our cooperation, we can provide colleagues who wish to do so the opportunity to play an important role as reservists."
"This contributes to KLM's attractiveness as an employer. We are also pleased that the Defense forces can utilize our expertise and experience in aviation in various areas.”
For cooperation in the cockpit, KLM is making a capacity of five 'full-time equivalents' (FTE) available. These hours can be distributed among a larger group of pilots who wish to fly as reservists with the Defense forces.
However, this is on a voluntary basis and currently applies specifically to pilots who are active in entry-level positions at KLM. They may, for example, be deployed to regularly train pilots on the F35, ensuring they remain up-to-date.
KLM and the Ministry of Defense are also exploring further cooperation possibilities in the areas of recruitment, training of technical personnel, MRO activities (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), and air transport. The details of this closer cooperation will be worked out in the coming period.
At the presentation at Schiphol, Rintel spoke of the start of an 'intensive and long-term collaboration' with the armed forces.
Gijs Tuinman spoke to Rintel of 'a beautiful day', he said,
"We have been circling each other for decades. Some of your employees were my employees." He called the fact that KLM is now freeing up 5 FTEs 'a beautiful first step'.
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