Deployment objectives for fighter aircraft

Main duties of the armed forces

The Dutch armed forces have three main duties or functions:

• defending national and allied territory;
• protecting and fostering the international rule of law and international stability;
• helping the civil authorities to maintain law and order, respond to disasters and provide humanitarian aid, both in the Netherlands and abroad.

In order to enable the armed forces to operate effectively, the Minister of Defence has formulated a number of ‘deployment objectives’. The deployment objectives for 2013-2017 are set out in a policy document entitled In the Interest of the Netherlands. In 2018, the Minister of Defence included the deployment objectives in the 2018 defence budget.

Deployment of fighter aircraft

Fighter aircraft perform the following four tasks:

• Quick Reaction Alert (QRA): if aircraft enter Dutch airspace without identifying themselves, two fighter aircraft from the Dutch air force are scrambled to escort them out of Dutch airspace. The air force has two fighter aircraft available around-the-clock for this task;
• Defending national and allied territory (which is the armed forces’ prime function). The Minister of Defence has said that this is a task that the armed forces perform ‘with all available means’;
• Deployment on short-term or long-term missions (the second main function of the armed forces).
• Training: the fighter aircraft are also used for training purposes in relation to the three tasks listed above.

Deployment objectives for fighter aircraft

The Minister of Defence has formulated deployment objectives for the fighter aircraft. However, these apply only to the first and third tasks, i.e. QRA and deployment on missions. The 2018 defence budget stated that the following deployment objectives apply to the fighter aircraft:

Two aircraft (and six pilots) must be available around-the-clock for QRA.

The armed forces must be able to supply the following for deployment on missions:

• until the F-16s have been replaced: QRA + a group of eight fighter aircraft for short-term missions or a group of four fighter aircraft for long-term missions;
• during the transition to the JSFs: QRA + a group of four fighter aircraft for short-term missions;
• once the JSFs are operational: QRA + a group of four fighter aircraft for long-term missions.

The following division of responsibilities applies during the transition period, i.e. when both F-16s and JSFs are operational:

Division of responsibilities applies during the transition period

Aircraft type	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
F-16	QRA + 8 short-term or 4 long-term missions	QRA + 4 short-term or 4 long-term missions	QRA + 4 short-term missions	QRA	QRA
JSF			(IOC by end of 2021)	4 short-term missions	4 short-term missions	QRA + 4 short-term or 4 long-term missions (FOC)

Deployment reports

The Minister of Defence informs parliament every year as to whether the deployment objectives have been met. During the years up to and including 2016, this information was provided in publicly available reports that in certain instances were published as part of the Ministry’s annual report. Since 2017, however, the reports presented by the Minister to parliament have been confidential for security reasons. In other words, these reports are no longer available to the general public.