Budget surge marks shift in Dutch defense: Netherlands makes new commitments to allied operations, joint strike fighter.

The Dutch government and defense industry will commit $800 million to the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter program during the next decade. That decision was driven, in large part, by the belief that the JSF is a sound business investment and has a bright future, said a senior Dutch military official.

The Netherlands is one of eight countries participating in the JSF program, designed to field a family of combat aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and the U.K Royal Navy. The other participating countries have not yet made specific orders, but are helping to fund the development phase of JSF and have a say in what capabilities they would like to see in the aircraft.

The $800 million Dutch investment will come from both government and industry sources, said officials.

"We have a lot of confidence in this program," said Lt. Gen. P.J.M. Godderij, deputy chief of the Netherlands Defense Staff.

"We do expect a considerable amount of industrial benefit, and also we are eagerly looking forward to the global project authorization of the JSF program," Godderij said during a meeting of defense industry executives, in Washington, D.C.

"For the past two and a half years, the Netherlands has conducted a rigorous technical and financial analysis of all potential candidates to replace its fleet of Lockheed Martin's F-16s. In both assessments, the JSF was ranked first," said Dutch Deputy Defense Minister Henk Van Hoof.

"We had to decide whether to buy off the shelf in the future, or to participate now. We made a thorough comparison of both possibilities in what we called our 'business case.' This case was based on our own assumptions and information, but of course, was also based to a considerable extent on information given to us by the Pentagon and U.S. industry," said Van Hoof. "That creates obligations."

In the end, he added, "we came around to join the JSF team, because the business case was positive and because we attach great importance to the participation possibilities."

The Netherlands has participated in the concept development phase of JSF since June 1997.

The JSF will replace the Royal Netherlands Air Force's fleet of F-16s, which are interoperable with U.S. fighters. U.S. and Dutch F-16s fought together during the Gulf War, the war in Kosovo and are currently operating as part of a coalition in Operation Enduring Freedom.

"Our fighters are trained in the U.S., and we have fought side-by-side," said Van Hoof.

During the campaign in Kosovo, a Dutch F-16 took the first enemy MIG our of the air, he said. It was the first Dutch air-to-air combat victory since World War II.

"With JSF, we hope to enhance our interoperability with NATO, but also with other European allied forces. The program will provide great opportunities for our industry, both for production as well as for the transfer of technology," he said. Furthermore, "our participation will reinforce the longstanding and dose relationship between the U.S. and Dutch air forces."

Responding to critics who accuse the Netherlands of betraying their fellow Europeans by choosing to fund the JSF, rather than the Eurofighter, Van Hoof said: "The Netherlands didn't choose the U.S. over Europe. On the contrary, with the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Denmark and perhaps later on countries such as Norway and Italy, the JSF program base. ... It is salient that the JSF has, in this respect, more European partners than any other program."

Participation in JSF is only one indication of the Dutch commitment to national defense, said Godderij. Last year, he noted, the government approved a supplemental appropriation of 130 million Euros to the Dutch defense budget. The Netherlands spends approximately 8.6 billion Euros a year on defense.

The additional spending comes during a time when practically every other program within the Dutch budget will be cur, said Harry DeWit, a spokesman for the Netherlands Embassy in Washington.

Like many of its European allies in NATO, the Netherlands' defense budget decreased steadily throughout the 1990s.

The Dutch move to increase military finances signifies "a drastic change in the balance of power," said Godderij, particularly given the turbulent year just experienced in Dutch defense politics.

In April 2002, the entire Dutch cabinet resigned, led by Prime Minister Wim Kok, following the release of a damning report by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. The Dutch Army's top general resigned the next day.

The report condemned the Dutch Army; which was working as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force in Bosnia, for its failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Srebrenica was widely considered to be the worst atrocity of the Bosnian war. Approximately 8,000 Muslim men from the area were reportedly executed within hours by Bosnian Serbs. Srebrenica was supposed to be a United Nations "safe area."

"When it came to Srebenica, our former government resigned, as the reports indicated fault," said DeWit. "They said they thought that what happened there was not on the account of the Dutch forces, yet they deplored it so much that they resigned."

A few weeks later, nine days before a vote to elect a new prime minister, the leading candidate, Pim Fortuyn, was assassinated. A new coalition formed, following the election of a right-wing Christian-Democratic candidate as prime minister, which included the Pim Fortuyn List party, named in memory of the assassinated populist.

Current Commitments

Following September 11, the Netherlands volunteered to serve in the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism, and deployed troops as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force.

"With respect to the events of September 11, the new government is convinced that the fight against terrorism requires an international approach. So does improving security. Efforts to strengthen the common European security and defense policy must continue," Godderij said.

The appropriation of 130 million Euros came after September 11 and was budgeted, "despite the financial constraints this cabinet has to work with," Godderij said.

With a population of 16 million, the Netherlands has a relatively large percapita military spending ratio. "We have about 75,000 civilian and military men and women in the organization, divided amongst our Navy, Army, Air Force, Royal Constabulary and defense inter-service command," Godderij said.

"We have very modern weapon systems and, like the U.S., we very much rely on realistic training, of which we do a big part here or with the United States."

Godderij said that defense policy in the Netherlands is still largely based on a white paper published in 2000, which represents "a clear choice in favor of a single toolbox of capable modules, intended for use in both high and low intensity conflicts," he said.

"Interoperability, sustainability, transportability and mobility and joint operations are key requirements for the Netherlands defense. Further, coalition operations are and will be the rule for Netherlands defense actions," he said. "A transatlantic plug-and-play capability would of course be the ideal situation."

The Netherlands is deployed literally all over the globe in coalition defense operations.

In support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Dutch deployed a frigate and a maritime patrol aircraft, from the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN), to the Arabian Gulf. The Royal Netherlands Air Force's (RNLAF) fleet of mid-life updated (MLU) F-16s is operating in a swing-role capacity, Godderij said.

Beginning in October, the RNLAF led a Danish-Netherlands-Norwegian MLU F-16 task force to Manas, Kyrgyzstan, to participate in operations over Afghanistan, he said.

A RNLAF KDC-l0 has been deployed for air-to-air refueling and strategic airlift. There is also a Dutch C-130 transport aircraft at Manas, he said.

Godderij reported that the RNLN is also involved in "Active Endeavour," a NATO operation in the Mediterranean that involves the rotation of forces from various alliance members.

There is also an increased RNLN presence in the Caribbean for counter-drug enforcement.

The Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA) is deployed in Task Force Fox in Macedonia. It has the largest presence among NATO members, with approximately 400 personnel. The RNLA also has 1,200 troops currently deployed in Bosnia.

"All in all, some 2,300 people are continuously away," said Godderij. "Although not as much as the United States, but in relation to the size of the country, I think you will agree with me that we can speak of a considerable effort."

Godderij said the Netherlands is among very few countries in Europe that is active in the field of theater ballistic missile defense.

"We are key players in an exercise, together with our American and German friends, that is called JPOW (Joint Project Optic Windmill)." The RNLAF Patriot air-defense systems have been upgraded to the latest PAC-3 configuration.

The Navy also is involved in missile defense, "to realize a sea-based ballistic missile defense capability," he said. This project is being executed in cooperation with the German Navy. Part of this program includes regular consultations with the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

"We need to make sure that the programs are coordinated," he said.

Partnerships and joint collaboration are important in Dutch defense operations, Dutch officials stressed.

"NATO remains the cornerstone of our security policy," said DeWit. "We are working on reshaping its role and its structure. There are signs of increasing willingness to exchange, to make everyone better equipped or better capable," he added.

"It is clear to me that cooperation will remain the cornerstone of the Netherlands defense efforts," Godderij noted. "And it shall not surprise anyone that the U.S. will remain one of our most important partners in this respect."

The Dutch also are working closely with the Germans on several projects. "We have restructured the headquarters of the German-Dutch Army. Part of our army is consolidated into the German-Dutch Army," he said. "The Germans and Dutch are working together to increase air transport and tanker capacity. We are splitting the tasks," he said. "We are also currently working to establish a field hospital together with the British Army."