On 8 March, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence deployed an Airbus A330 Multi‑Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft to Muscat, Oman to support the evacuation of Dutch nationals from the Middle East.
Archive photo of an Airbus A330
This operation was required following the rapidly deteriorating security situation in the region. The repatriation flight from Muscat to Egypt was carried out on 9 March, with the military aircraft landing safely in Hurghada.
F-35 personnel training for NATO defence with Americans in Utah
F-35s of the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force are taking part in exercise Lightning Forge until the end of March. The aim of the exercise is to prepare for the defence of NATO territory. Dutch pilots, maintenance personnel and logistics staff are training together with the United States Air Force, which is playing the role of the mock enemy. During the exercise, both sides make extensive use of each other’s resources and expertise.
Trip to Ukraine and Poland marks first working visit of Minister of Defence Yeşilgöz-Zegerius
Last week, Netherlands Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius travelled to Ukraine for her first working visit in this role. The minister was accompanied by her colleague Tom Berendsen, the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs. In Kyiv, she spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky and her Ukrainian counterpart Mykhailo Fedorov. The minister then travelled to Poland, to visit the Air and Missile Defence Task Force. There, around 230 Dutch military personnel are defending NATO airspace on the eastern flank, including with Patriot air defence systems.