Netherlands Dispatches 12 F-35A Jets to US for Advanced NATO Air Defense Readiness Training
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The Netherlands has sent twelve F-35A fighters to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho for several weeks of advanced joint training with U.S. forces. The exercise is designed to sharpen NATO’s air defense capabilities and deepen Dutch integration into allied combat operations.
On 29 October 2025, the Netherlands confirmed that twelve F-35A fighters are deploying to the United States for several weeks of intensive training from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, as reported by the Dutch MoD. The objective is clear and operational: prepare Dutch pilots and ground crews to defend NATO airspace under realistic wartime conditions. The deployment underscores The Hague’s growing contribution to Alliance air defense after a year of high-tempo Baltic and Polish operations, including combat intercepts against Russian drones. The training is timed with broader Dutch efforts to integrate crewed and autonomous airpower around the F-35.
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The Dutch F-35A is a fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter designed for precision strike, intelligence gathering, and air superiority missions within NATO operations (Picture Source: Dutch MoD)
The Dutch Ministry of Defence confirmed that twelve F-35A fighters have departed for Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, to conduct a three-week advanced training phase within the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force’s annual program. The exercise will test Dutch aircrews in precision strike, counter-air, and survival missions under conditions replicating modern warfare, including simulated jamming, GPS interference, and electronic attacks. Four Airbus A330 MRTTs from NATO’s Multinational MRTT Fleet accompany the fighters, ensuring continuous refueling and emphasizing the multinational dimension of NATO’s long-range readiness posture.
Mountain Home AFB offers the Dutch forces a unique training environment unavailable in European airspace. Its vast maneuvering ranges and sophisticated threat simulators allow pilots to execute large-scale missions with live and inert munitions while integrating air and ground assets in complex, contested settings. For the Netherlands, this environment provides the realism needed to sharpen its F-35 fleet’s combat readiness and maintain interoperability with U.S. and Allied forces amid evolving Russian and Iranian capabilities.
The deployment also follows a year of heightened operational activity for Dutch F-35s. Since September, the aircraft have operated from Poland under NATO’s air policing mission, including the confirmed downing of a Russian drone that violated Polish airspace. That engagement underscored the maturity of Dutch F-35 sensors and engagement protocols while demonstrating NATO’s capacity to respond decisively to aerial incursions on its eastern flank.
Strategically, the Netherlands’ participation in the U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft program earlier this month aligns with its effort to integrate the F-35 into an ecosystem of AI-enabled loyal-wingman drones. Training at Mountain Home is an early step toward developing tactics and command procedures for future manned-unmanned teaming. This investment in innovation, combined with the deployment’s operational rigor, positions the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force at the forefront of NATO’s fifth-generation airpower transformation.
With a total order of 52 F-35A aircraft replacing its F-16 fleet, the Netherlands now fields two combat-ready squadrons, 322 at Leeuwarden and 313 at Volkel, and maintains additional aircraft for training and testing in the U.S. The ability to dispatch twelve jets overseas while sustaining NATO commitments in Europe highlights the growing maturity of Dutch sustainment and operational planning. Each rotation to Idaho strengthens pilot proficiency, refines maintenance and logistics processes, and reinforces the Netherlands’ role as a key contributor to NATO’s collective air defense.
By sending twelve F-35s to Mountain Home AFB at this moment, the Netherlands is converting recent combat experience and a growing fifth-generation fleet into durable NATO readiness. The training block, drawn directly from Dutch MoD planning, gives pilots the range space, threat replication, and weapons employment they cannot get at home; it also connects today’s deterrence requirements, air defense of Poland and the Baltic approaches, with tomorrow’s human-machine teaming under the CCA program. For NATO, the signal is practical and credible: one of Europe’s most mature F-35 operators is investing its flying hours where they matter most, building the skills, tanker relationships, and networked tactics that deter intrusion and, if required, win the first night.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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The Netherlands has sent twelve F-35A fighters to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho for several weeks of advanced joint training with U.S. forces. The exercise is designed to sharpen NATO’s air defense capabilities and deepen Dutch integration into allied combat operations.
On 29 October 2025, the Netherlands confirmed that twelve F-35A fighters are deploying to the United States for several weeks of intensive training from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, as reported by the Dutch MoD. The objective is clear and operational: prepare Dutch pilots and ground crews to defend NATO airspace under realistic wartime conditions. The deployment underscores The Hague’s growing contribution to Alliance air defense after a year of high-tempo Baltic and Polish operations, including combat intercepts against Russian drones. The training is timed with broader Dutch efforts to integrate crewed and autonomous airpower around the F-35.
The Dutch F-35A is a fifth-generation multirole stealth fighter designed for precision strike, intelligence gathering, and air superiority missions within NATO operations (Picture Source: Dutch MoD)
The Dutch Ministry of Defence confirmed that twelve F-35A fighters have departed for Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, to conduct a three-week advanced training phase within the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force’s annual program. The exercise will test Dutch aircrews in precision strike, counter-air, and survival missions under conditions replicating modern warfare, including simulated jamming, GPS interference, and electronic attacks. Four Airbus A330 MRTTs from NATO’s Multinational MRTT Fleet accompany the fighters, ensuring continuous refueling and emphasizing the multinational dimension of NATO’s long-range readiness posture.
Mountain Home AFB offers the Dutch forces a unique training environment unavailable in European airspace. Its vast maneuvering ranges and sophisticated threat simulators allow pilots to execute large-scale missions with live and inert munitions while integrating air and ground assets in complex, contested settings. For the Netherlands, this environment provides the realism needed to sharpen its F-35 fleet’s combat readiness and maintain interoperability with U.S. and Allied forces amid evolving Russian and Iranian capabilities.
The deployment also follows a year of heightened operational activity for Dutch F-35s. Since September, the aircraft have operated from Poland under NATO’s air policing mission, including the confirmed downing of a Russian drone that violated Polish airspace. That engagement underscored the maturity of Dutch F-35 sensors and engagement protocols while demonstrating NATO’s capacity to respond decisively to aerial incursions on its eastern flank.
Strategically, the Netherlands’ participation in the U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft program earlier this month aligns with its effort to integrate the F-35 into an ecosystem of AI-enabled loyal-wingman drones. Training at Mountain Home is an early step toward developing tactics and command procedures for future manned-unmanned teaming. This investment in innovation, combined with the deployment’s operational rigor, positions the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force at the forefront of NATO’s fifth-generation airpower transformation.
With a total order of 52 F-35A aircraft replacing its F-16 fleet, the Netherlands now fields two combat-ready squadrons, 322 at Leeuwarden and 313 at Volkel, and maintains additional aircraft for training and testing in the U.S. The ability to dispatch twelve jets overseas while sustaining NATO commitments in Europe highlights the growing maturity of Dutch sustainment and operational planning. Each rotation to Idaho strengthens pilot proficiency, refines maintenance and logistics processes, and reinforces the Netherlands’ role as a key contributor to NATO’s collective air defense.
By sending twelve F-35s to Mountain Home AFB at this moment, the Netherlands is converting recent combat experience and a growing fifth-generation fleet into durable NATO readiness. The training block, drawn directly from Dutch MoD planning, gives pilots the range space, threat replication, and weapons employment they cannot get at home; it also connects today’s deterrence requirements, air defense of Poland and the Baltic approaches, with tomorrow’s human-machine teaming under the CCA program. For NATO, the signal is practical and credible: one of Europe’s most mature F-35 operators is investing its flying hours where they matter most, building the skills, tanker relationships, and networked tactics that deter intrusion and, if required, win the first night.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
