Free Republic

A farewell fitting to royalty, that was what happened at Gilze Rijen airbase in the Netherlands on Tuesday 15 December, as the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) said goodbye to its final four Alouette helicopters. Never the most exciting piece of aviation kit, they in fact proved very reliable in over 51 years of RNLAF service. Good enough also for the Dutch royal family. A flight of two Alouettes, known for their pristine blue paint scheme and characteristic engine sound, saluted those present at Gilze Rijen airbase, home to most of the RNLAF helicopter fleet. Four Alouettes remained in service...

Saab makes its fighter jet more attractive than JSF Wednesday 24 July 2013 The Dutch government has been offered the chance to fine late delivery of a competitive jet fighter to the Joint Strike Fighter, which is currently the preferred option. According to the Financieel Dagblad, Swedish aircraft maker Saab made the offer on its Gripen NG in a last-ditch attempt to win the contract. Parliament asked the cabinet earlier this year to allow competitors to the JSF to re-submit their bids. The Netherlands has been involved in the development of the Lockheed Martin aircraft and has two on order....

Dutch to buy fewer F-35 jets than planned - minister (Reuters) - The Netherlands will buy fewer than the 85 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets it had planned to acquire because costs have risen and the country needs to replace fewer F-16 fighters, the Dutch defence minister said on Sunday. The costs of developing and building the F-35, which will replace F-16 fighters, have been rising. Japan and a U.S. Air Force official have warned they may order fewer planes if costs go up further. Asked on Dutch television programme Buitenhof if the Netherlands still planned...

Monday, 21 September 2009, 07:38 C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 000568 SIPDIS EO 12958 DECL: 09/17/2019 TAGS MARR, MOPS, NATO, PINS, PREL, NL SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/JSF: CONCERN ABOUT SECOND ENGINE REF: A. THE HAGUE 271 B. THE HAGUE 264 C. THE HAGUE 543 Classified By: POLECON Counselor Andrew C. Mann for reasons 1.5(b,d) Summary This cable relays concerns from the US embassy in the Hague that unless greater US support is giving to the development of a second engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, it might jeopardise Dutch involvement in the project...

The Netherlands expects to ramp up production spending for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter significantly in 2014, according to budget projections submitted to parliament. The latest update the defense ministry is providing to legislators on the planned F-35 purchase shows spending on the system design and development (SDD) phase will wrap up in 2012, with €11.6 million ($15.6 million) and €1.1 million to be spent over the next two years. Additionally, the Dutch government has set aside €8.5 million in 2011 and €3 million in 2012 to complete solely Dutch-financed SDD initiatives. The budget forecast also shows €126.3 million in...

The costs of the Joint Strike Fighter, the US fighter jet which is to replace the ageing Dutch fleet of F-16s, will be 1.4 billion euros higher than the original estimate. This is an increase of 20 percent over the amount of 6.2 billion euros which the government initially expected would buy 85 JSF planes. Parliament expressed shock at the increase, particularly at a time when the government has announced 18 billion euros’ worth of budget cuts. On Thursday, Defence Minister Hans Hillen wrote in a letter to parliament that the higher costs are partly due to delays in the...

Two F16’s from the Dutch Royal Air Force have intercepted two Russian bombers over the North Sea on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Air Force. The two Russian aircraft type TU-95 MS (Bear) were for some time monitored by the Dutch aircraft and eventually flew away. It is the second time in more than one month that Russian long range bombers are flying in European airspace. On the night of 15th September, British, Danish and German aircraft came in action because of two Russian aircraft. Tuesday first Danish and British aircraft came in action before the Dutch fighter...

MPs from across the political spectrum want to reduce the number of JSF fighter jets the Netherlands is planning to buy to below the 85 on the provisional order books, the Telegraaf reports on Monday. The need to make government spending cuts and the rising cost of the aircraft are forcing a rethink, the paper says. Labour, the Socialists, left-wing greens GroenLinks and anti-Islam PVV all want the total number reduced or the order scrapped altogether, while the Christian Democrats say the figure of 85 is no longer set in stone. The Liberal democratic party D66 also says it would...

Villagers who suffer from the jet noise in the north end of town, and all those with sensitive ears only have to put up with the ruckus a little bit longer. The Dutch pilots who have been training at the Springfield-Beckley Airport with the 178th Fighter Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard will move to Arizona soon after September 2010. The move was announced on Sunday, May 2, on the Web site F16.net and was confirmed this Tuesday by am Air National Guard spokesman. Soon after the Dutch joined American pilots already training at the airport five years ago,...