The Netherlands will purchase 37 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes.

Defense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert was due to announce the decision later on Tuesday in a policy paper setting out her long-term vision for the armed forces, the sources said.

The decision brings the number of countries with firm commitments to purchase the F-35 to seven after Britain, Australia, Italy, Norway, Israel and Japan also placed orders.

The Dutch, who are phasing out their F-16s by 2023, had initially planned to buy 85 F-35s, but people close to the discussions said earlier this year they wanted to scale back the order to between 52 and 68 amid deep budget cuts.

Defense fiscal year 2014

Acquisition of 37 F-35s (delivery from 2019)
Reduction of number of F-16s from 68 to 61 (in 3 squadron, down from 4) Leeuwarden will become a Deployed Operating Base in 2015 (from a Main Operating Base)
Intention to team-up with the Belgians for QRA duties
Gulfstream to be sold
Closure of the AOCS Nieuw Milligen (by 2017)
Leeuwarden as a Deployed Operating Base will have F-16s but all overhead will be concentrated at Volkel, leaving as little functionalities at Leeuwarden as necessary.
One more very interesting development is that by 2020 the RNLAF wants to fully integrate the Dutch airlift capacity (C-130, KDC-10) into a joint NATO fleet under the umbrella of the European Air TRansport Command, as its own capacity is too small to operate independently, they will be time-shared with the other EATC countries, possibly at a base outside Holland.

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