As the Royal Netherlands Air Force deploys eight F-35s to Malbork Air Base in Poland, Giovanni Colla assesses how they are contributing to NATO's deter and defence mission along its eastern flank
Since the end of January, eight Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-35A fifth-generation fighter jets have been deployed to Malbork Air Base in Poland with a detachment of around 160 men and women, including a bespoke team of maintainers who established the structures required to host the F-35s ahead of the deployment. Since the Polish base flies the MiG-29, the Dutch team and their hosts had to adapt parts of the base infrastructure to meet the high security standard needs for the Lightning operations.
