31 January, 2019: The roll out the first operational F-35A Lightning II for the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) was celebrated at Lockheed Martin, Fort Worth, Texas.
In attendance at the ceremony were various distinguished government, military and industry guests including Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin; Mona Keijzer, State Secretary of the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs; and Maxime Verhagen,Special Envoy F-35, the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs. The event commemorated a transformational leap in capability for the future of the Netherlands' national defence.
The aircraft is scheduled to ferry to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona after the ceremony where F-35A pilot training takes place. The F-35 is the first operational aircraft and the third Netherlands jet delivered to date.
In 2013, the first two Dutch F-35s were delivered and they are currently at Edwards AFB, California, supporting operational testing. The RNLAF also plans to obtain 37 F-35As.
The F-35 programme has benefitted the Dutch industry including 25 suppliers with contracts awarded for high technology work. The F-35 programme has already generated more than $1 billion USD in contracts for Netherlands industry, as estimated by the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs. It has created thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the Netherlands over the life of the programme.