Leeuwarden air force base terminates F-16 operations

At the Dutch airbase Leeuwarden, the Royal Netherlands Air Force will say goodbye to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, also nicknamed “Viper”, in 2021. The fly-out was scheduled for 1 July but was delayed due to a crash at Leeuwarden of a Belgian Air Force F-16 during the Weapon Instructor Course (WIC). The Dutch F-16s finally left Leeuwarden Air Base on 5 July after a period of 42 years at this Frisian air base.

Leeuwarden was the first airbase of the Royal Netherlands Air Force to receive the F-16 Fighting Falcon in 1979. The 322 Squadron of the the Royal Netherlands Air Force was the first unit to use the type and is now the first unit in the Air Force to replace the type with the F-35A Lightning II. This is a huge milestone for the Air Force, as the F-16s have been the backbone of the Royal Netherlands Air Force for many years. The fighters took part in many operations of the Dutch Air Force conducted in regions such as Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria etc. as a part of an international coalition.

For the “F- 16 Fly- Out” or “Viper Farewell”, the unit painted few aircraft in the original colours of the Frisian airbase of 1980s. A total of four aircraft were painted, three of which had the original Frisian markings of the based squadrons. These planes were; the J-509 bears the full colour badges of 322 Squadron nicknamed “Polly”, the J-144 bears the full colour badge of 323 Squadron nicknamed “Diana” and finally the J-201 bears the full colour badge of the Transition and Conversion Department ( TCA). The fourth aircraft, the J- 871, carried the dragon on the tail, which is the symbol of Leeuwarden Air Base.

These aircraft left Leeuwarden for the last time after 42 years and landed at their new home base Volkel Air Base in the south of the Netherlands. Before this landing took place, the four F-16s circuled around all Dutch military airfields to say goodbye to the Leeuwarden F-16s. The last F-16 flights are planned for 2024 when Volkel will also have its “Viper Farewell” and the F-16 at the Royal Netherlands Air Force will come to a definitive end.