Message posted on
2 April 2026 by HIVE
On March 24, 2026, the Royal Netherlands Air Force opened the gates of Woensdrecht Air Base to introduce interested visitors to a wide range of training possibilities and careers. With over 800 visitors, it was a well-attended and successful event. The focus was primarily on military roles and activities, but the public also had the opportunity to get a sense of the broader Hive Aerospace Collective. Within HIVE, civilian companies and educational institutions support the Air Force in the areas of maintenance, logistics, and education.
After a welcome by Air Support Command Commander Cengiz Sahan and an impressive Chinook helicopter fly-by, visitors spread out across the grounds. Here, they spoke with Defense personnel, examined equipment up close, and gained a good understanding of the wide variety of roles within the Air Force.
From engineering to logistics, and from security to communications technology: at numerous booths, visitors learned more about a wide range of job opportunities. Demonstrations and information sessions on topics including the Pilot Training, Defense Service Year, Fire Department, and Defense Security & Surveillance Organization drew significant interest.
What made this afternoon particularly special was the visible role of cooperation between military and civilian parties. Various partners within the Hive Aerospace Collective demonstrated the intensity of collaboration between the Air Force, commercial companies, and educational institutions, as well as the concrete opportunities this offers for current and future job seekers.
For example, the Aircraft Maintenance & Training School, in collaboration with Curio, offers the vocational training program in aircraft maintenance, where students can earn internationally recognized Part 66 certificates in addition to their diploma. In addition, the elective course VEVA or a Defense Study Deal allows them to get a taste of the military field while still in school.
ACRATS, a training specialist in sheet metal and composite repair, also participated. In Woensdrecht, the training provider works closely with the Air Force within a joint civil-military training program for aircraft structure maintenance.
How craftsmanship in sheet metal maintenance directly contributes to aircraft operational readiness was shown by 4Repair. As a proud partner of the Air Support Command, this company supports the Air Force’s operational continuance.
In the field of high-tech component maintenance, Aeronamic plays a key role for the Air Force. In Woensdrecht, the company maintains the Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS) for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fleet of the Netherlands and its allies.
Last but not least, Fokker Services Group has a long history as a maintenance partner of the Air Force. In Woensdrecht, their technicians work side by side on the military NH90 helicopters. In the near future, this collaboration will be expanded to include Fokker’s completion of the Embraer C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft.
As Commodore Cengiz Sahan aptly put it:
“Pilots are a visible and indispensable part of the Air Force. But getting an aircraft to fly requires a large team. And we are also looking for new colleagues—both military personnel and civilians—for those roles.”
This is why the Career Day highlighted not only the versatility of working at the Air Force, but above all the power of collaboration within the Hive Aerospace Collective: an ecosystem in which defense, industry, and education work together to maintain the future of aerospace.
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