RAMSTEIN, Germany – Allied Air Forces have come together in Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands to take part in the Royal Netherlands Air Force-led exercise Frisian Flag, between March 28 and April 8.
Over the two-week period, participants from France, Canada, Italy, Germany the United Kingdom and the United States, alongside NATO Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, will enhance operational capability during the live-fly air combat training event. Thirty fighters and support aircraft will take to the skies daily as part of complex training missions with scenarios based around high-intensity warfare.
We train, like we fight - together!
"We train, like we fight - together! For that reason, Frisian Flag is an important international aerial exercise in which NATO Allies jointly practice realistic large-scale scenarios," said Air Commodore Johan van Deventer, Commander Leeuwarden Airbase. "Recent developments have shown again that NATO air assets must and can deploy rapidly and operate as an integrated team from day one. That takes practice. With Frisian Flag we demonstrate our Allied cohesion, and deter potential enemies," he added.
Allied F-16s taxi prior to take-off during Ex Frisian Flag. The training involves live-fly air to air combat. Photo courtesy of Royal Netherlands Air Force.
French Mirage 2000 ready for a sortie in one of the complex training scenarios that are part of Ex Frisian Flag. Photo courtesy of Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Frisian Flag allows Allied aircrews to prepare for air operations in a complex and contested environment. The current situation on the eastern border of NATO territory brought about by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine makes exercises like this more relevant than ever, improving interoperability and building a stronger and even more interoperable Alliance.