The Global Coalition is made up of a diverse set of countries, all with slightly different goals and methods in mind. This article aims to examine two of the smaller military contributors to the coalition, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Dutch F-16 over Iraq
On September 24th, 2014, the Dutch government announced their intention to deploy eight (six active, two reserve) General Dynamics F-16s of the 10th Tactical Wing to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan to support Coalition military operations against Daesh in Iraq. The mission came at the repeated request of the Iraqi government for international assistance defeating the terror group. In addition to the fighter aircraft and their nearly 250 support personnel, the Netherlands also deployed approximately 150 military trainers to assist Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers in their training.
Dutch troops guarding their training center in Iraq
Dutch aircraft made their first strikes on October 7th, 2014, when two F-16s carried out a strike in support of Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. On October 27th, a Dutch pilot was given command of a 15 aircraft-strong Coalition mission that included three other Dutch aircraft, an American B-1 Lancer, and an E-3D AWACS aircraft. It was the first time the Netherlands had led an air strike since November 21st, 1994, when 4 Dutch F-16s led a 40-strong NATO strike force to bomb the Bosnian Serb runway at Udbina in Croatia. By the beginning of February 2015, Dutch aircraft had carried out nearly 600 strikes against Daesh.
Dutch “Solo Team” F-16
On June 24th, 2015, the Dutch military announced they would be extending operations against Daesh by at least another year, citing instability on Europe’s borders. In January 2016, the Defense Ministry of the Netherlands began hinting at the idea of operations in Syria. They also announced that, due to the eight-aircraft mission in Iraq and the two-aircraft defense flight on-call for Dutch airspace, there were not enough F-16s in active service to perform at air shows for 2016 in the Netherlands. By February 2017, Dutch instructors had trained nearly 4,500 Peshmerga soldiers, and a Dutch KDC-10 tanker joined the effort to keep Coalition aircraft over Iraq at all times. As of this writing, Dutch aircraft have conducted 492 strikes in Iraq.
Denmark’s intervention against Daesh was announced on October 2nd, 2014, after Danish parliament voted overwhelmingly to commit seven F-16AMs (four active, three reserve) from Eskadrille 727 and Eskadrille 730 to Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait. They also voted to send a capacity-building team of 120 personnel to Iraq to help train the Iraqi security forces. All seven aircraft arrived on the afternoon of October 5th and carried out their first combat mission on the 16th, although no weapons were released. The first 30 military trainers from Denmark arrived at Al Asad Airbase in Western Iraq in late November and began training Iraqi and Kurdish forces. At some point in September 2015, the Danish F-16s left Kuwait to return to Denmark and were replaced by a Danish radar team.
Danish trainers with their Iraqi counterparts
Denmark returned to the battlefield with a vengeance in March of 2016, with seven F-16s being redeployed to Kuwait alongside a C-130J Hercules, support staff, and a special forces team. Furthermore, on this deployment, Danish aircraft would be pursuing Daesh into Syria. The aircraft were only a part of Denmark’s efforts against Daesh. The Danish government also earmarked substantial funds for stabilization efforts, counter-finance operations, and countering propaganda. As of the most recent update, Danish aircraft have carried out 1,112 sorties on 547 missions in Iraq and Syria, releasing 503 bombs onto Daesh positions.
Danish adviser training Iraqi troops
While the military efforts of the Netherlands and Denmark may not seem remarkable when compared to American efforts, they nonetheless demonstrate commitment to NATO efforts around the world and show that, when working together as allies, smaller nations can make a large impact. Between the two countries, they account for nearly 20% of the total coalition airstrikes. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at.
Photos courtesy of the Danish and Dutch Ministries of Defense, along with CENTCOM.
