MMany Danes have a notion of being a fighter pilot but few know what it really takes. DR’s new documentary series “The Fighter Pilots” gives the viewer a chance to find out and also to get up close and personal with the pilots, their training, and their missions.
Over the past year, DR has had unique access to follow the Danish fighter pilots up close, at the combat air base in Skrydstrup, in Southern Jutland, and also on the missions from the airbase.

The series also provides a special insight into issues fighter pilots face in the Danish Air Force. The pilots speak bluntly and honestly about the fascination of flying in a fighter jet, and just as honestly about the ethical considerations it takes to drop bombs on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

DR is present when the pilots guard the Danish airspace in the so called rejection contingency. DR is also present when the pilots sharpen their combat skills at daily training exercises in Denmark, and when they train for survival in enemy territory. DR also follows a number of the Danish fighter pilots closely when they are based out of Turkey and are flying real world missions as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State.

The program is both a portrait of a workplace normally closed to the public, which sheds new light on Denmark’s participation in the war. What really happens when a terrorist target has been identified in northern Iraq? How does it all go down when two Danish fighter planes fly real missions with bombs on their wings in the middle of the night?

“The Fighter Pilots” premieres Monday April 24th at 8:45PM (20.45) on DR1 and will be shown for the next four Mondays.