The Quest for Relevant Air Power

ROYAL NETHERLANDS Air Force │ 239
towards expeditionary warfare. 84 Dutch politicians have been willing
to employ air power across the entire spectrum of force to
fulfil the goals set by their defence policy. In a speech in early
2004, the Dutch defence minister underlined that allied solidarity
must not only be apparent from a country’s military capabilities
but also from its willingness to share risks. Hence, the ability to
engage at the higher end of the military spectrum of force became
an important pillar of Dutch foreign and defence policy. He particularly
argued that if politicians are to contribute to stability and
security, they must have the courage to shoulder responsibility for
operations entailing fatal casualties. 85
In line with the Netherlands’ defence policy, all of the RNLAF’s
main weapon systems have been engaged in deployed operations
since the end of the Cold War. From 1993 to 2001, Dutch F-16s
were stationed in Italy as part of the air operations over the Balkans.
From late 2002 up to 2010, they were contributing to operations
in Afghanistan. RNLAF AH-64 helicopters have also been
employed across a broad spectrum of force in out-of-area operations.
Not only the RNLAF’s airborne assets but also its guided
missile units have proven to be important in the post–Cold War
environment. Dutch Patriot units were deployed in the context of
Desert Storm in 1991 and Iraqi Freedom in 2003. On top of these
combat contributions, the RNLAF has played a role in humanitarian
relief operations and troop deployments with its airlift fleet.
Dutch Contributions to Western Air Campaigns
As early as 1991, the Dutch government was willing to commit
F-16 fighter aircraft to combat missions. During the 1990–91 Gulf
crisis, the Netherlands was actively seeking participation in the
coalition against Saddam Hussein. Due to the concentration of
extremely large numbers of aircraft in the Gulf region, though, all
hosting options for Dutch F-16s turned out to be exhausted. 86
The Netherlands’ immediate reaction to Desert Storm was to
draw lessons from the near deployment to the Gulf area. On a
political level, it sought to speed up the political decision-making
process for any future crisis management operations. On an operational
level, squadrons were geared up for rapid deployment. 87
In the remainder of the 1990s and beyond, Dutch decision makers
indeed proved capable of swiftly committing the armed forces to