On Friday, 27th September 2024, the era of the Dutch Vipers will officially come to its end, after forty-five years of service. The Royal Netherland Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht – RNLAF) is going to say goodbye to its F-16 Fighting Falcons fleet with the last farewell round flight over the country.
According to the press release of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, formation of several F-16 aircraft is going to depart Volkel air force base at 13:30 hours. Then, the aircraft will make a round flight over the Netherlands, visiting places related to the aircraft and its service.
Please note the flight route and time schedule are subject to change.
In addition, the official farewell ceremony will be organized at Volkel. Although it will not be an open doors event, the ceremony can be followed via live broadcast on YouTube, under the following link.
Earlier this year, the Dutch Vipers completed their final QRA duty (please refer to our article – Changing the guard in the Netherlands – last QRA duty of the Dutch F-16s for more information). Starting October 2024, the F-35 Lighting II will take over the role of sole operational fighter of the RNLAF.
