| |
|
|
|
Frisian Flag 2005
Menso van Westrhenen visited the Royal Netherlands Air Force's most northern airbase during exercise Frisian Flag.
From 27 September until 8 October, the Royal Netherlands Air Force's most northernly airbase Leeuwarden hosted exercise Frisian Flag. Apart from several Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16 squadrons, various other NATO countries sent participating aircraft.
Most participating aircraft, pilots and crewmembers were operating from Leeuwarden airbase, although some units from the Netherlands and neighbouring Germany and the United Kingdom operated from their homebase. The mission targets included buildings, ships at sea and various so-called 'Red Air' aircraft (hostile aircraft trying to disrupt the mission and prevent the targets from being destroyed. Two missions were flown each day, one in the morning and the second mission in the afternoon.
After being cancelled in 2003 and 2004 this years Frisian Flag was a great succes. The main reason for the Royal Netherlands Air Force to conduct this large training exercise is to let participating pilots experience operations in a full-scale international war scenario with high training value. Furthermore, the attending pilots learn to cope with difficult and continuously changing situations while planning and flying their daily missions. This experience proved to be very useful when deployed to Kosovo and Iraq.
A total of twenty RNLAF F-16 Fighting Falcons from Volkel, Twenthe and Leeuwarden participated in the exercise. Due to budget cuts within the Royal Netherlands Air Force Twenthe will be closed in the near future, only Volkel and Leeuwarden will remain open as 'main operating bases' (F-16 bases). 315 Squadron will be disbanded and 313 'tiger' Squadron will move from Twenthe to Volkel.
During the exercise the F-16s used the callsign 'Viper' followed by a colour, for example Viper Blue. Four Wittmund based F-4F Phantoms from Jagdgeschwader 71 'Richthofen' were operating out of Leeuwarden. Their callsign, 'Smoke', referred to the old smoking J79-MTU-17A engines. After more than thirty years the Luftwaffe has started to phase out the Phantoms as they will be replaced by the Eurofighter Typhoon. At this moment only 2 Jagdgeschwaders (fighter squadrons) are still flying with the good old Phantom.
For the fourth time in a row Leeuwarden hosted Finnish Air Force Hornets, a type that's rarely seen outside its country. Finland ordered 64 Hornets in 1992 with the last one delivered in 2000. They are operating out of 3 bases: Kuopio-Rissala, Rovaniemi and Tampere-Pirkkala. Besides Finland, Switzerland and Spain are the only European countries equipped with Hornets so they are welcome participants each year.
Frisian Flag was the first exercise in the Netherlands with participation of JAS-39A Gripens from the Swedish Air Force Rapid Reaction Force (SWAFRAP). Their participation brought some challenges as they were the only participants without Link 16 data communication and inflight refueling capability. The modernised JAS-39C Gripens, which will join SWAFRAP in 2008, are equipped with both. Besides the first time participation of the Swedish Gripens there was also a last time participant. With only 2 operational squadrons in the Royal Air Force the end nears for the Jaguar. Six Jaguar GR3As from 6 Squadron simulated MiG-27s during the exercise.
Articles and photos published on this website are copyright protected. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
| | |
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)