Dutch Air Force running F-35 drills from Schiphol Airport today and tomorrow
On Tuesday and Wednesday, four F-35 fighter jets from the Dutch Air Force’s 322 Squadron will run drills at and around Schiphol Airport. The Ministry of Defense wants to practice the deployment of military aircraft from non-military airfields.
In addition to the four fighter jets, the drills will also include ground crews and an Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft, used to refuel other aircraft mid-flight. According to Schiphol, the exercise consists of several scheduled departure and arrival flights. After departure, the aircraft will fly on to regular Defense training areas.
“In the event of a threat or conflict, you want to act as flexibly as possible to guarantee deployability,” detachment commander Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Smaal said about the Schiphol drills. “By working closely with civilian partners during this exercise, called Avatar, we’re becoming familiar with each other’s working methods. We’re also assessing whether our deployment concept works from a civilian airport.”
The training at Schiphol is also a little bit to show the Randstad region what it means to be alert to the looming threats around the world, Major General Robert Adang, Deputy Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, told Parool. "The entire community is being asked to be alert. This also applies to an airport like Schiphol, or to local residents who normally have no experience with the noise of fighter jets."
Where and when the F-35s will fly will not be announced in advance, and the jets can’t be tracked on regular flight apps. According to the schedule, there will be two return flights each on Tuesday and Wednesday during the day.
Operation Avatar should not affect regular air traffic at the airport, Schiphol’s operational director Patricia Vitalis told Parool. “We don’t expect any delays. That might be different during times of crisis, but fewer flights will be operating then anyway.”
