Frisian Flag 2019
Leeuwarden Air Base – one of two Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-16 facilities in Europe – has been home to an annual fighter exercise since 1992. Manolito Jaarsma attended the latest manoeuvres, which included a significant Minnesota Air National Guard participation.
Since 1999 the Leeuwarden fighter exercise has been named Frisian Flag, a reference to North American ‘Flag’ exercises and the province of Friesland where the base is found. The station is currently home to the RNLAF’s 322 Squadron flying the F-16AM/BM and 306 Squadron, which will receive four MQ-9s beginning next year.
The Fighting Falcon unit now includes the Tactical Training, Evaluation and Standardisation Squadron (TACTESS) responsible, among other duties, for organising Frisian Flag and Fighter Weapons Instructor Training (FWIT) exercises.
Frisian Flag 2019 took place from Monday, April 1 to Friday, April 12. With the exception of the final day, two missions were flown daily, between 0930 and 1200hrs and 1330 to 1600hrs. Operational areas were located directly north, in temporary reserved airspace above the Waddenzee and North Sea. Air-to-ground ranges were available in the same area, including the RNLAF rang…
