Netherlands Air Force KDC-10 Tanker Approved To Refuel F-35

McDonnell Douglas KDC-10 of Royal Netherlands Air Force

KDC-10 tanker of the Royal Netherlands Air Force has been certified to refuel the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II after flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The Dutch Defence Ministry said this week that one of its two KDC-10 tankers, tail number 264, refueled the aircraft fifth generation fighter for the first time on March 31. Netherlands plans to acquire 37 F-35s, with the first eight due to arrive in the country in 2019.

Certification comes as the Ministry of Defence announced on April 7 that the F-35 will visit the Netherlands "in late May or June" for three weeks. demonstration flights are planned in Leeuwarden airbases and the RNAF Volkel.

KDC-10 Aerial Refueling F-35

The KDC-10 - built by McDonnell Douglas in the late 1970s - is likely to provide support during the test. You can pass 1,750 litre of fuel per minute for combat aircraft, according to the Ministry of Defense. Two Dutch aircraft are part of the test equipment integrated Joint Strike Fighter at Edwards AFB and are operated by RNAF Test and Evaluation Squadron.

In February, Italy got the first Atlantic crossing F-35 Italian aircraft manufacturing was helped by the ocean on the tank itself Boeing KC-767 in Rome. The KC-767 was certified last August, and the Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A completed its certification in December 2015.