FRISIAN FLAG 2009
Words Michael van der Mee, photographs by Nico van Remmerden.
From April 14 until 24 Leeuwarden Air Base hosted the multi-national Frisian Flag exercise. Aim of this exercise is training and executing complex missions by multi-national forces. The exercise is based on previous experiences with operations over Afghanistan and scenarios the future NATO Response Force is likely to meet.
Exercises like Frisian Flag provide valuable training for multinational operations from all kinds of air forces, the following countries participated in previous editions of Frisian Flag; Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Finland and the United States.
This year a lot of initial participants like the Polish F-16s cancelled due to other operational commitments or budgetary reasons.
Frisian Flag is an exercise of pilots, for pilots, where taking tactical decisions stands by the pilots (operators) first. The hosting squadron, 323 TACTESS (TACtical Training, Evaluation and Standardisation Squadron), organises this exercise already many years.
The 493nd Fighter Squadron - USAFE deployed 6 F-15Cs from RAF Lakenheath and for realistic electronic warfare training the Norwegian Air Force Falcon 20 was a valueable participant. The aircraft where refueled in the air by a KDC-10 of the RNLAF and a KC-135 from the USAF. A RNLAF Fokker 50 acted as slow moving target during intercepts.
During the exercise Close Air Support (CAS) was practiced in cooperation with Forward Air Controllers (FACs) from the Army as well as controllers from Royal Netherlands Navy ships.
New for this year was the participation of the Patriot Air Defense System that was stationed on Leeuwarden as well as on the Cornfield range at the isle of Vlieland. Next to that the mobile fighter control unit of the AOCS Nieuw Miligen was stationed at Leeuwarden.
During the almost two weeks, the participants qualified themselves in training defensive and offensive tasks in a realistic scenario, where the emphasis laid on taking tactical decisions on operator level and the integration of all available resources and systems.
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