Flying the Frisian Flag
From March 28th until April 8th, more than 40 aircraft and helicopters from 7  NATO countries participated in the largest aerial exercise in The Netherlands. Completely organised by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNethAF) and supported by hundreds of international ground crew, twice a day complex missions were executed and evaluated.

The reoccurring Frisian Flag exercise is the largest exercise held in the Netherlands. As the name suggests, the exercise is flown from Leeuwarden Air Base in the northern province of Friesland. Leeuwarden Air Base is the first Main Operating Base of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht – KLu (Royal Netherlands Air Force – RNLAF) to operate the F-35. More than twenty of forty-eight ordered have been delivered so far. On December 27th Initial Operational Capability (IOC) was reached. Frisian Flag can be regarded as a smaller version of the Red, Green and Maple Flag exercises in the USA.