Instroom F-35/JSF bij de NL-KLu

Gestart door Ros, 08/04/2015 | 22:15 uur

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Harald

#3985
14/12/2023 | 08:52 uur
First Picture Of B61-12 Nuclear Bomb Trainer On An F-16 In Europe Surfaces ( NL F-16 op Volkel)

The B61-12 nuclear bombs are set to replace all existing B61s in shared NATO stockpiles.



A picture has emerged showing an F-16 Viper fighter that appears to be sitting at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands with an inert training version, or "shape," of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb under its wing. This offers a rare glimpse into the ongoing work to field America's latest nuclear bomb in Europe as part of NATO's nuclear sharing agreements.

The image of the F-16 with the B61-12 shape under its wing was included in a video montage that the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories put out in 2022 highlighting achievements from the previous year. Hans Kristensen, the Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) think tank in Washington, D.C., spotted the picture, seen at the top of this story, and shared his thoughts about it in a blog post earlier today.

Kristensen assessed that the image was taken at Volkel based on the distinctive design of the hardened aircraft shelter seen to the left of the F-16 in the image from the Sandia video.

"Eleven of the [32] shelters at the Volkel [air base] are equipped with an underground vault that can hold up to four B61 bombs. But normally they only hold 1-2 bombs each for an estimated 10-15 bombs at the base," according to FAS.

Volkel is one of several bases in Europe where the U.S. military keeps B61s, which could be released to select NATO members for use on their aircraft as part of the alliance's nuclear weapon sharing agreements.

The B61-12 also has a distinctly different tail section from earlier B61 variants, which is clearly visible in the picture. The B61-12 has a distinct rear end because it is the first version of this nuclear bomb to feature a precision-guided tail kit. The B61-12 is an amalgam of components from a number of earlier B61 types combined with the new tail and other improvements. You can read more about the B61-12, which will replace multiple existing versions, and its predecessors in this past War Zone feature. The Pentagon is also now looking to start development of another B61 variant, the B61-13, as you can read more about here.

Whether the F-16 in the picture belongs to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) or not is unclear. The RNLAF is now in the process of transitioning to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and is expecting to retire the last of its Vipers in the coming year. In November, the head of the Dutch Air Combat Command announced that the country's F-35A fleet had received an "initial certification for the deterrence mission."

As FAS' Kristensen notes in his blog post today, if this image was indeed taken in 2021, this would have been before the first production examples of the B61-12 were delivered and before they formally entered the U.S. stockpile. It is not surprising that preparations to deploy these weapons in Europe have already been going on for years now and other evidence of this has previously emerged. The War Zone previously obtained a U.S. military report via the Freedom of Information Act that was published in April 2019 and included a picture, seen earlier in this story, showing a fit check of B61-12 shapes in a secure vault at an undisclosed location.

Whether any operational B61-12s are in Europe now is unclear. In October 2022, Politico reported that the plan was for the first examples to arrive on the continent this month.

Based on official information released to date, only U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers are currently approved to employ the B61-12 operationally. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, as well as the service's future B-21 Raider stealth bombers, are also set to become operational delivery platforms for these nuclear bombs.

In addition, B61-12 is expected to be integrated onto select NATO F-16s, as well as U.S. Air Force Vipers. Some Belgian Vipers, in addition to the ones in Dutch service, are currently cleared to employ older B61 variants under NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements. Some of the Panavia Tornado swing-wing combat jets in service in Germany and Italy are also capable of serving as nuclear weapon delivery platforms.

It is worth noting that U.S. and NATO F-16s, as well as NATO Tornados, will not be able to use the guidance functionality found on the B61-12. This issue may be increasingly moot. All of the current known NATO members that are party to the nuclear sharing agreements have or are in the process of acquiring F-35s to supplant their F-16s and/or Tornadoes.

As already noted, the RNALF is moving toward being able to employ U.S. B61s on its F-35As. Germany's decision to purchase Joint Strike Fighters was also explicitly driven in large part by requirements related to the nuclear mission.

Overall, NATO members that participate in the alliance's nuclear weapon sharing arrangements have historically been very guarded about that fact. There has been a noticeable shift in attitude since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has become even more pronounced since the Russian military forward-deployed nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus earlier this year.

Polish authorities have been particularly open about their interest in at least hosting U.S. nuclear weapons in the future. Poland shares a border with Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad enclave, the latter of which at least has facilities to support the deployment of nuclear weapons, if they aren't actually in place there now.

The picture of the F-16 with the B61-12 shape under its wing, likely taken at Volkel Air Base, only further underscores that NATO very much remains a nuclear alliance and that its members are actively working toward being able to employ new capabilities in this regard.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/first-picture-of-b61-12-nuclear-bomb-trainer-on-f-16-in-europe

Sparkplug

#3984
05/12/2023 | 22:31 uur Last Edit: 06/12/2023 | 22:13 uur by Sparkplug
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3983
30/11/2023 | 13:01 uur
Laatste internationale oefening F-16

"Je merkt wel dat de kist verouderd is"

Eind september 2024 is het gedaan met de F-16 in Nederlandse dienst. Vanaf dan vliegt het CLSK alleen nog met de F-35 Lightning II. Afgelopen oktober haalden de Fighting Falcons voor waarschijnlijk het laatst alles uit de kast tijdens een internationale NAVO-oefening boven Italië, de Middellandse Zee en Kroatië. 312 Squadron van Vliegbasis Volkel voerde de 'zwanenzang' uit.

Tekst: Jack Oosthoek

.../...

de Vliegende Hollander 11, woensdag 29 november 2023

https://magazines.defensie.nl/vliegendehollander/2023/11/01_laatste-internationale-oefening-f-16
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Benji87

#3982
13/11/2023 | 11:54 uur
De F35 betekent voor de nucleaire capaciteit van een Europa ook een flinke boost. Als Duitsland, NL, België en Italië straks beschikken over F35's nuclear strike capability kan NAVO snel en onopgemerkt toeslaan. Al met al heb je dan +/- 80 kernbommen gereed plus nog eens 455 kernkoppen die door Franse en Britse onderzeeërs kunnen worden gelanceerd en +/- 110 kernbommen die klaar liggen bij de Amerikanen in groot Brittannië. Stiekem toch best wel wat nucleaire capaciteit beschikbaar in Europa.

Harald

#3981
13/11/2023 | 08:47 uur
Dutch F-35s Gain Nuclear Strike Mission "Initial Certification"

The Royal Netherlands Air Force will operate dual-role F-35A jets that are able to draw from a shared NATO stockpile of B61-12 nuclear bombs.

A portion of NATO-operated F-35A stealth fighters in Europe appears to have moved a step closer to becoming fully nuclear-capable platforms, with an announcement from the Netherlands that it has received "initial certification for the deterrence mission." The U.S. Air Force had previously announced that the aim was to have the F-35A certified to carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb — as a so-called Dual Capable Aircraft (DCA) — by January 2024.

On X (formerly Twitter), Johan van Deventer, the commander of the Dutch Air Combat Command, provided the following statement (which has here been machine-translated):

#ACC "Ready for Operations" was the result of the U.S. team that inspected us this week. This gives us our initial certification for the deterrence mission with the F-35. An important step in the transition. Made possible by teamwork.

https://twitter.com/Jvd_Tweet/status/1722670191232852383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722670191232852383%7Ctwgr%5E573c6e399dc4a195c72481f14ade9ffb0ba65e90%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fdutch-f-35s-gain-initial-certification-for-nuclear-strike-mission

First off, it's worth noting that official comments on NATO nuclear sharing are uncommon, to say the least. As to the statement, the implication is that U.S. Air Force personnel visited the Dutch Air Combat Command — responsible for the operational Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-35A fleet — and inspected its operational readiness. A determination was made about the RNLAF's ability to assume the nuclear strike role with the F-35A, resulting in the related certification, although the bombs themselves are not known to have been made available so far.

As well as a photo of an F-35A test jet loaded with test versions of the B61-12 bomb, van Deventer also included a photo of a coin, presumably presented during the visit by the U.S. inspection team. It bears the words "5th Generation Deterrence — Safe, Secure, Reliable."

.../...

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/dutch-f-35s-gain-initial-certification-for-nuclear-strike-mission

Sparkplug

#3980
08/11/2023 | 08:35 uur
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3979
25/10/2023 | 23:14 uur
In de nieuwste Onze Luchtmacht uitgave wordt vermeld dat de eerste F-35A voor de KLu (F-038)met Tech Refresh 3 (TR-3) niet eerder wordt verwacht dan tweede helft 2024. Dit is vanwege de late levering aan de VS (mogelijk de U.S. Air Force) tussen april en juni 2024.

De toestellen F-039 en F-040 zijn gepland om naar Edwards AFB te gaan. Hier zullen zij deelnemen aan het Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) programma.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3978
13/10/2023 | 09:08 uur
313sqn shows off new badge

Published: 12 October 2023   Last Updated: 12 October 2023



After months of discussion, it looks like the final decision on how the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu, Royal Netherlands Air Force) F-35 squadron badges will look like has been made.

Last October the first F-35 with 322sq badge was spotted. The 322 badge showed the famous parrot Polly Grey, surrounded by a crest.

313sq later painted a badge of their Tiger without a crest on F-028. Apparently a discussion about uniformity (crest or no crest) started which then finally resulted in this look.

We expect that from now on all the 313sq Lightning IIs (thirteen on strength and a couple still on order) will be sporting this look in the near future.

However you like it, crest or no crest, it is much better than nothing!



Picture F-037: Ron van Dijk / Picture F-028 Rob Hendriks

https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/313sqn-shows-off-new-badge
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3977
09/10/2023 | 22:26 uur Last Edit: 03/11/2023 | 13:07 uur by Sparkplug
F-35A AN-36 F-036 first flight 09-10-2023

https://www.scramble.nl/community/messageboard/48/69822?start=2430


9 October 2023, Jetphotos.com photo by spotters_nw_italy

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/11111399
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Master Mack

#3976
20/09/2023 | 12:41 uur
Citaat van: Huzaar1 op 20/09/2023 | 10:57 uurCDLSK aan het roer  8)
Helder  :confused:

Huzaar1

#3975
20/09/2023 | 10:57 uur
CDLSK aan het roer  8)
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion" US secmindef - Jed Babbin"

Sparkplug

#3974
20/09/2023 | 10:30 uur
Quote uit DPO 2023

CitaatInmiddels is de eerste levering van deze nieuwe middellange
tot lange afstandsraket (AMRAAM, AIM-120C) t.b.v. de F-35A
toestellen binnen. Deze versie past in de Nederlandse F-35.
Eerstvolgende vervolglevering staat nu gepland voor eind 2024.
De obsolescence upgrade van de AMRAAM AIM-120C7 naar de
AIM-120C8 versie is nu in uitvoering.
Defensie is in gesprek met de Amerikaanse overheid voor
mogelijkheden tot levering van de nieuwste AIM-120D versie.

De AIM-120D zou een mooie aanvulling op de AIM-9X Block II/II+ en de AIM-120C8 zijn.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3973
13/09/2023 | 22:42 uur
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3972
04/09/2023 | 11:34 uur Last Edit: 29/09/2023 | 09:22 uur by Sparkplug
F-35A AN-37 F-037 first flight 31-08-2023

https://www.scramble.nl/community/messageboard/48/69822?start=2400


RNlAF F-35A #F-037 is coming in for landing after a testflight at Cameri AP on September 1st, 2023. [Jetphotos.com photo by Marco Macca]

https://www.f-16.net/g3/f-35-photos/album502/album520/F-037
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Sparkplug

#3971
04/09/2023 | 11:32 uur
F-35A AN-35 F-035 first flight 30-08-2023

https://www.scramble.nl/community/messageboard/48/69822?start=2385


RNlAF F-35A #F-035 is coming in for landing after a testflight at Cameri AP on August 30th, 2023. [Jetphotos.com photo by Marco Macca]

https://www.f-16.net/g3/f-35-photos/album502/album520/F-035
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.
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