RNLAF Patch Sqn Royal Netherlands Air Force 322 Squadron F 16 Leeuwarden

RNLAF Patch Royal Netherlands Air Force F 16 Vliegbasis Leeuwarden 322 323 Squadron Patch 1980s Embroidered on twill merrowed edge 101mm four inch diameter.

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The Royal Netherlands Air Force purchased a total of 213 F 16A B aircraft. The Netherlands were one of the four European Participating Air Forces and one of 5 countries to build the F 16 locally. The initial Dutch order for 102 F 16A B aircraft 80 single seat F 16As and 22 two seat F 16 Bs
which were to be assembled by Fokker at Schipol plant. The first Dutch built F 16 took off on its maiden flight on 3 May 1979 and the initial delivery of the F 16A B to the RNLAF KLu took place in June 1979.

In December 1983 the Dutch Parliament approved plans to buy an additional 97 F 16As and 14 F 16Bs. This brought the total F 16 inventory to
213 aircraft 177 A models and 36 B models. The last F 16 rolled off the line at Fokkers Schiphol plant on 27 February 1992. A Multinational Operational Test and Evaluation Centre for the F 16A B Mid Life Update was established at Leeuwarden Air Base during 1997 which updated 138 RNLAF KLu F 16s. In 2003 the Dutch government decided to cut the F 16 force by a quarter which reduced the fleet to 108 aircraft all of which were upgraded through the Mid Life Update MLU.

RNLAF Squadrons equipped with F 16s remaining active are 312 Sqn 313 Sqn 322 Sqn and 323 Sqn and those disbanded are 306 Sqn disbanded
2010 311 Sqn disbanded 2011 314 Sqn disbanded 1995 315 Sqn disbanded 2004 and 316 Sqn disbanded 1994

RNLAF operations over Afghanistan commenced in October 2002 with a tri-national detachment of 18 Dutch Danish and Norwegian F 16 ground attack aircraft and one Dutch KDC 10 tanker deployed to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan in support of ground forces in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The RNLAF returned to Manas AB under the NATO ISAF in September 2004 with five F 16 and one KDC 10 in support of the presidential elections of Afghanistan. In 2005 the Dutch Air Task Force ATF moved to Kabul with the F 16s providing air support to coalition ground troops. In February 2006 four Dutch F 16s were joined by four Royal Norwegian Air Force F 16s in a detachment known as the 1 Netherlands Norwegian European Participating Forces Expeditionary Air Wing 1 NLD NOR EEAW. This was a follow up of the participation with the Belgian Air Force. As part of the expanded NATO ISAF mission in southern Afghanistan in August 2006 the Royal Netherlands Air Force had six F 16 ground attack aircraft three CH 47D Chinook of 298 Sqn stationed at Kandahar Airfield to give direct support to Dutch ground troops of Task Force Uruzgan with the F 16s regularly having to use their weapons. Additionally a detachment of five AH-64D Apache helicopters had been stationed of Tarin Kowt Uruzgan province.

1n 2011 the F 16s have been operating from Mazar e Sharif in northern Afghanistan in support of the police training mission in Kunduz mainly
carrying out reconnaissance missions with emphasis on detecting IEDs buried in the ground and providing direct air support to ground units.

This patch dates from the 1980s.