Four Dutch pilots and 20 technicians are soon to begin training on the F-35 Lightning II in the United States. This was announced by Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a letter to the House of Representatives.
Prepared The pilots will start their theoretical training by the end of this month and will start flying the new aircraft in December. This is to prepare pilots and maintenance personnel for the operational test phase which starts in 2015.
Hennis stated that starting this training is not an irreversible step, but that postponing it would mean that the pilots would have insufficient experience for the operational test phase in 2015.
[mappress] Press Release, October 16, 2013; Image: Defensie