LONDON — The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has cleared its Douglas KDC-10 aerial tanker to refuel the F-35, paving the way for the fighter’s public debut in June.
Certification trials began on March 31 following the deployment of one of two KDC-10s to Edwards AFB, California, to perform the tests with one of the two RNLAF F-35As currently based at Edwards as part of the Dutch test and evaluation effort.
According to the F-35 Joint Program Office, the testing saw the fighter refuel in daylight, dusk and night, with 30,000 lb. of fuel being transferred during the tests.
Certification with the KDC-10 is one of the prerequisites in a Dutch plan to send one of the F-35s to the Netherlands in May, where the aircraft will perform a series of noise perception flights to give local communities living near the RNLAF’s two main fighter bases, Leeuwarden and Volkel, an idea of the noise levels produced by the F-35 in comparison to the F-16 Fighting Falcon that it will replace.
The aircraft are due to arrive in the Netherlands on May 26, and due to return to the U.S. on June 14.
The first Dutch F-35s will be stationed in the Netherlands in 2019. A fleet of 37 aircraft is planned, with most of them manufactured in Italy. Around five of the F-35s will be retained in the U.S. at Luke AFB, Arizona, for pilot training, leaving the remaining 32 to be based in the Netherlands.
The aircraft will remain in the Netherlands for three weeks for the trials before making the F-35’s European air show debut at the RNLAF’s Open Dagen (Open Day) at Leeuwarden on June 10-11, almost one month before U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and U.K. F-35s cross the Atlantic to appear at two U.K. air shows in July.
The KDC-10 will play a limited role in refueling the Dutch F-35s, however, as the Netherlands is involved in a multinational tanker program with Poland and Norway to purchase Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker-Transports. These will replace the two KDC-10s currently in service.