The Royal Netherlands Air Force was preceded by the Army Aviation Group (, abbreviation LVA), founded in 1913. It was renamed as Army Aviation Brigade () in 1939. In 1953, it was raised to the level of independent operational part of the Dutch Armed Forces and renamed as Royal Netherlands Air Force (). On 1 July 2025 the Royal Netherlands Air Force was renamed to the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force.
Army Aviation Group Dutch air power started on 1 July 1913, with the founding of the Army Aviation Group at Soesterberg airfield () having four pilots. When founded, the Army Aviation Group operated one aircraft, the
Brik, which was supplemented with three French
Farman HF.20 aircraft a few months later. These aircraft were soon outdated, and the Dutch government ordered several fighter/reconnaissance
Nieuport and
Caudron aircraft to replace them.
World War I (1914–1918) The Netherlands maintained a neutral position during World War I and the Army Aviation Group did not take part in any action. Instead, they focused on developing the force's capabilities. Pilot training was opened and established for ranks including officers in technical, aerial photography, meteorological and navigation flights. New airfields were built at Arnhem,
Gilze-Rijen Air Base, Venlo and Vlissingen. Because of the war, it was difficult to procure suitable aircraft.
Interbellum After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved. As political tensions in Europe increased during the late 1930s the government tried to rebuild the armed forces again in 1938 but there were many problems, not least the shortage of pilot instructors, navigators and pilots to fly the new multiple engine aircraft. Lack of standardisation and resulting maintenance issues added to the complexity of the rebuilding task.
Army Aviation Brigade World War II Jachtkruiser As war loomed, in July 1939 the Army Aviation Group was renamed the Army Aviation Brigade (). In August 1939, the Netherlands government mobilised its armed forces, but due to limited budgets the Army Aviation Brigade operated only 176 combat aircraft of the following types: • 16
Fokker T.V type bombers • 36
Fokker D.XXI single-engine fighters • 35
Fokker G.I twin-engine fighters • 7
Fokker D.XVII single-engine fighters • 17
Douglas DB-8A-3N light bombers • 20
Fokker C.X light bombers • 33
Fokker C.V reconnaissance aircraft • 20
Koolhoven F.K.51 artillery observer aircraft at the Air Force Museum in Soesterberg In May 1940,
Germany invaded the Netherlands. Within five days the Dutch Army Aviation Brigade was defeated by the
Luftwaffe. All of the Brigade's bombers, along with 30 D.XXI and 17 G.I fighters were shot down; two D.XXI and eight G.I were destroyed on the ground. Two G.I were captured by German forces, one of which was later flown to England by a Fokker pilot. The Douglas bombers were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict. In spite of their numerical superiority the Luftwaffe lost 350 aircraft in the conquest of the Netherlands, many to
anti-aircraft fire and crashes at improvised landing fields in the Netherlands rather than due to action by Dutch fighter aircraft. The cost was high – almost 95% of the Dutch pilots were lost. In recognition of their actions
Queen Wilhelmina granted the highest Dutch military decoration, the (MWO), to the Army Aviation Brigade collectively. Some aircrews escaped to England and on 1 June 1940,
320 Squadron and
321 Squadron were established there under
RAF operational command. Due to a shortage of personnel, 321 Squadron was absorbed by 320 Sqn in January 1941. Although their personnel were predominantly from the Navy Air Service, Army Aviation aircrew also served with 320 Sqn until the end of the war. In 1941, the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School was re-established, in the United States at
Jackson Field (also known as Hawkins Field),
Jackson, Mississippi, operating
lend-lease aircraft and training all military aircrew for the Netherlands. The separate (ML-KNIL; Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Military Air Service) continued in the
Netherlands East Indies (NEI), until its
occupation by Japan in 1942. Some personnel escaped to Australia and
Ceylon.
321 Squadron was re-formed in Ceylon, in March 1942, from Dutch aviators. In 1942,
18 (NEI) Squadron, a joint Dutch-Australian unit was established, in
Canberra, equipped with
B-25 Mitchell bombers. It saw action in the
South West Pacific Area (SWPA), which included the Dutch East Indies. In 1943,
120 (NEI) Squadron was established. Equipped with
Kittyhawk fighters, it flew many missions under Australian command, including the
recapturing of Dutch New Guinea. In 1944, transport aircraft operated by the KNIL in the SWPA were integrated into another joint unit,
19 (NEI) Squadron. In June 1943, a Dutch fighter squadron was established in England.
322 (Dutch) Squadron, equipped with the
Supermarine Spitfire, saw action as part of the RAF. 322 Sqn aircraft featured the British RAF roundels as well as the Dutch orange triangle. 322 Sqn was successfully deployed against incoming
V-1 flying bombs. From mid-1944, during the
invasion of Normandy, it executed
ground attack missions over France and Belgium. In July 1944, the Directorate of Netherlands Airpower was established in London.
Late 1940s and early 1950s In 1947, its Chief of Air Force Staff was appointed. During the
Indonesian War of Independence, the air force committed ground attacks and transported material and personnel. In 1948, transportation aircraft were used in support of the first Dutch airborne raid in southern Sumatra and
Djokjakarta. In 1951 several non-combat functions in the Army Aviation were opened to women. The Air Defense Command, (, abbreviated
CLV) consisting of a command unit, five radar stations and six fighter squadrons, had been established. Its radar equipment as well as its air defense fighters all came from obsolete
RAF stocks. • The Spitfire Mk.IX was used by
322 Squadron RNLAF until 1954 but was replaced as new squadrons were established. • The
Gloster Meteor F Mk.IV was used by 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327 and 328 Squadrons from 1948 to 1957. Bases included Soesterberg and Leeuwarden. • The
Gloster Meteor F Mk.VIII was used by 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327 and 328 sqn from 1951 to 1958. in 1969 After the Netherlands joined
NATO another new command: Tactical Air Command (, abbreviated
CTL) was established. • CTL consisted of seven new strike squadrons (306, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315 and 316 sqn), all equipped with Republic
F-84G Thunderjets. These aircraft were supplied by the United States under the
Mutual Defense Aid Program from 1952 to 1956. 311 was the first flying squadron to be stood up at Volkel on 1 May 1951. a Yugoslavian
MiG-29 with an
AMRAAM, but the force was more recognized for its high bombing accuracy. Allied Force was also the operational debut for the upgraded F-16AM. Besides the
CAP missions, offensive bombing and photo reconnaissance missions were flown. KDC-10 tankers refuelled allied aircraft over the Adriatic Sea, and C-130 Hercules transports flew daily sorties from Eindhoven AB to logistically support the operation. Dutch F-16s also dropped
cluster bombs on Niš. In total, RNLAF aircraft flew 1,194 sorties during operation Allied Force, which is about 7.5% of the total 37,000 sorties flown.
Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO in Afghanistan On 2 October 2002 a tri-national detachment of 18 Dutch,
Danish and
Norwegian F-16 ground attack aircraft and one Dutch KDC-10 tanker deployed to
Manas Air Base in
Kyrgyzstan in support of ground forces in
Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom. The KDC-10 returned to the Netherlands on 1 April 2003, and the Dutch F-16 detachment on 1 October 2003. The RNLAF returned to Manas AB on 8 September 2004 with five F-16 and one KDC-10 in support of the presidential elections of Afghanistan. This time the aircraft flew under the
NATO ISAF flag. On 24 March 2005 the Dutch detachment transferred from Manas AB to
Kabul International Airport. A detachment of six
AH-64D Apache helicopters were already stationed at Kabul International Airport from April 2004 until March 2005. In February 2006 four Dutch F-16s were joined by four
Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s in a detachment known as the 1st Netherlands-Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing (1 NLD/NOR EEAW). This was a follow-up of the participation with the
Belgian Air Component. As part of the expanded NATO ISAF mission in southern Afghanistan in August 2006, the Royal Netherlands Air Force had three CH-47D Chinook of 298 Sq stationed at
Kandahar Airfield. On 12 November 2006 eight F-16s transferred from Kabul International Airport to Kandahar Airfield, Additionally, a detachment of six (later four) AH-64D Apache helicopters had been stationed of
Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province. The CH-47D Chinooks of 298 sq rotated with Cougars from 300 sq. All helicopters together with a few F-16s returned to the Netherlands in November 2010. The other four F-16s transferred from Kandahar Airfield to
Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport in November 2011. The F-16 flight, providing Close Air Support for ground forces and Recce Flights (specialised in counter-IEDs), ended their mission officially on 1 July 2014. On 31 August 2006 a Royal Netherlands Air Force (Michael "Sofac" Donkervoort) pilot was killed when his plane crashed during a mission to support British ground troops in Helmand province. On 7 December 2007 military use of Twente Air Base ceased. The aerodrome is now known as
Enschede Airport Twente. Flying officially ended at
Soesterberg Air Base on 12 November 2008. The last jet ever to take off was a Hellenic AF F-4E. The base closed on 31 December 2008. The 298th and 300th squadron moved to
Gilze-Rijen Air Base. A part of the base remains in use as a glider field. The former USAFE side will be in use by ground units relocated from Kamp van Zeist and will be called "Camp New Amsterdam". The AF museum (Royal Netherlands Military Aviation Museum) returned to the base and will use most of the existing hangars.
2010s and 2020s In 2013 the Royal Netherlands Air Force provided Strategic Airlift Support with a KDC-10 in support of French operations in Mali. The RNLAF was hit hard by the Dutch defence cuts after the 2008 financial crisis. 311 Squadron was disbanded in September 2012, leaving four squadrons of F-16s, and one DC-10 transport aircraft was disposed of. In October 2014 the Netherlands Air Force joined the US and its Allies fighting ISIL, deploying eight F-16s (of which two are in reserve) to Jordan. On 31 October 2014 323 Tactess squadron (F-16) disbanded and its aircraft and personnel were merged into 322 Squadron. The following Wednesday (5 November) the squadron reformed in the US as the RNLAF's first
Joint Strike Fighter unit.
303 Squadron (
Agusta Bell AB 412SP) provided search and rescue within Dutch
Flight Information Region) until 1 January 2015 when the unit was disbanded. In 2015 Airbus A330 MRTT were ordered to replace two Dutch KDC-10 Tanker / Transport aircraft. The Netherlands is the lead nation in NATO initiative to replace and pool existing Tanker / Transport, including Luxembourg, Belgium (1), Germany (4), Norway (1) within EATC, in 2014 it was announced that the Airbus A330 MRTT has been selected and two are ordered for the Royal Netherlands Air Force with options to eight aircraft based in adjoining countries. In 2017 the Belgian Air Component, German Air Force and Royal Norwegian Air Force confirmed orders by joining the MMF program to a total of 9 aircraft of which 5 will be based at Eindhoven Airbase and 4 at Cologne Air Base. They will carry Royal Netherlands Air Force roundels and be registered as Dutch aircraft. In November 2019 it was announced that the Dutch KDC-10 tankers were sold to
Omega Aerial Refueling Services. The last Dutch KDC-10 was taken out of service in October 2021. As per 2017 the Air Defence - Quick Reaction Force of two F-16 fighters are integrated for Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg airspace and rotated between Dutch and Belgian ADF squadrons. In 2021 a
Brik-II satellite was launched to provide the Royal Netherlands Air Force with intelligence regarding navigation, communication and observation of the earth. In May 2022 it was reported that several MQ-9 Reapers would be used to patrol in the Dutch Caribbean. On 27 September 2024 the RNLAF formally retired the F-16 after 45 years of service. A farewell flight was held on the same day in which the aircraft flew past several military airfields in the Netherlands. As of November 2025, almost all of Netherlands' F-16s have been sold/donated to other countries. In November 2024 it was announced that in 2028 the Dutch satellite PAMI-1 will be launched and will be used by the Defensie Space Security Center (DSSC), which is part of the RNLAF. That same month it was also announced that a contract to purchase 12
Airbus H225M helicopters had been signed. On
9 September 2025 the RNLASF, with support of fellow NATO countries, shot down multiple Russian drones that had entered Polish airspace. On 27 and 28 January 2026 four
F-35s and a single
A330 MRRT tanker aircraft of the RNLASF participated in exercises at
Schiphol Airport.
Operation Inherent Resolve From 2014 the Royal Netherlands Air Force provided eight F-16s in support of the coalition fighting IS. The aircraft were initially deployed in Iraq and later in Syria. The mission was handed over to the Belgian Air Component in July 2016 after more than 2,100 missions were flown, with weapons used over 1,800 times. The Royal Netherlands Air Force contributed extensively to the missions flown by the coalition forces and were in high demand. Since 2017, RNLAF KDC-10 and C-130H Hercules are deployed to the Middle East to assist the United States led coalition in Operation Inherent Resolve. In January 2018 the Dutch F-16s returned to the Middle East for a year-long deployment. == Structure ==