Politics

Video: First F-35 JSF stationed in the Netherlands touches down in Leeuwarden

By Janene Pieters on November 1, 2019 - 11:50

The first F-35 JSF was delivered to the Netherlands on 31 Oct 2019

The first Dutch F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet landed on Dutch soil in Leeuwarden on Thursday. Not for a test flight, "but forever", the Ministry of Defense said, calling it a "historic moment in the history of the Royal Netherlands Air Force".

And a historic moment it is indeed, according to NOS. WIth an investment of over 6 billion euros for 46 figher jets, the F-35 JSFs are the most expensive Dutch defense project yet.

The JSF jets are set to replace the old F-16s, the first of which were purchased in the late 1970s.