How the Ministry of Defence calculates the deployability of fighter aircraft
The Minister of Defence provided an assurance, in the policy document entitled In the Interests of the Netherlands that a fleet of 37 JSFs was sufficient not just to enable the armed forces to protect Dutch airspace around-the-clock, but also to have four aircraft available for long-term missions in other parts of the world and also to ensure that the armed forces have constant access to a team of fully trained pilots.
The Minister offerred the following figures as backing for her assurance in the DMP D letter:
Method used by the Ministry of Defence for calculating the annual deployability of fighter aircraft
- Of the 37 aircraft, five will remain in the US for use in initial training of new JSF pilots and as test aircraft.
- Each of the 32 aircraft stationed in the Netherlands will produce 210 flying hours per annum (the total service life of an aircraft is 8,000 flying hours). This works out at a total of 6,720 flying hours per annum.
- 180 flying hours per annum are needed (for the annual operational training programme) to get a pilot combat-ready.
- Not all 6,720 flying hours form an effective part of the annual operational training programmes. A deduction of around 20% needs to be made. This means that 29 pilots can be trained to be combat-ready.
- A group of 20 pilots is needed for a full operational training programme and for the purpose of protecting Dutch airspace (QRA). This group of pilots alternates between QRA and operational training.
- This means that 9 pilots are available for deployment on missions. Based on the NATO guideline that two pilots should be available for each aircraft, the Ministry of Defence has calculated that 4 JSFs will be available for deployment on missions.
Dependent on partnership with Belgium
Operational training and QRA are performed by a single pool of pilots, alternating between the two tasks. Normally speaking, the air force needs a pool of 24 pilots for this purpose. However, the fact that the air force protects the national airspace (i.e. performs the QRA task) in partnership with the Belgian air force means that fewer pilots are needed in practice. The air force has calculated that the pool needs only to consist of 20 rather than 24 pilots. According to the Minister of Defence, this produces a ‘saving’ of 4 pilots, who are then available for deployment on missions. In other words, the assurance given by the Minister of Defence about the deployability of the JSF depends on the partnership between the Netherlands and Belgium.
The Netherlands recently signed a treaty to this end with Belgium and also with Luxembourg as a third partner. The partnership has been effectively in operation since 1 January 2017. The Netherlands and Belgium now take turns to supply fighter aircraft to protect the airspace of all three Benelux countries.