Draken signs ‘Red Air’ letter of intent with Royal Netherlands Air Force
November 21, 2024
Draken Europe signed a Letter of Intent with the Royal Netherlands Air Force force to deliver its unique brand of commercially contracted Adversary Air training throughout 2025 and 2026.
The LoI was signed at the NEDS (Netherlands Industries for Defence & Security) exhibition in Rotterdam, and will see Draken provide advanced threat replication services using Aero Vodochody Aerospace (AVA) L-159E Honey Badger aircraft. These will be flown by Draken’s experienced pilots who will operate in the aggressor role alongside RNLAF personnel on their operational training sorties.
The L-159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft (ALCA) is a single-engine subsonic combat aircraft developed from the L-59 Super Albatross trainer as a low cost fighter. A number of L-159s which were retired by the Czech Air Force were sold to private military contractors to provide aggressor (‘Red Air’) air services as the L-159E. Among the customers for these aircraft was Draken, who originally used them to support a Red Air contract at Nellis AFB.
Draken Europe signed a teaming agreement with Aero Vodochody Aerospace (AVA) to bid for the RAF’s Interim Red Air Aggressor Training Service (IRAATS) contract, which aimed to find a contractor-owned, contractor-operated air-to-air, target, threat simulation and mission augmentation training solution. On winning this, Draken transferred eight L-159E aircraft (which Draken call the Honey Badger) to Teesside airport, from where they replaced the BAE Hawks of No.100 Squadron at nearby RAF Leeming.
The first of the Aero Vodochody L-159E ‘Honey Badgers’ was granted a Permit To Fly by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, and was registered as G-DKNA on 1 July 2022.
The L-159E provided a more advanced threat compared to the Hawk due to being equipped with a modern Radar and Radar Warning system.
The Draken/AVA team also worked to identify and develop other opportunities for the Teesside-based fleet of civil-registered L-159E Honey Badgers – one of which is the new Netherlands requirement.
Uves Wood, Draken’s Business Development Director for Adversary Air, explained, “The intent is for our team to fly these jets on detachment in the Netherlands during 2025 and 2026, while at the same time providing our advice and assistance in this area, as well as concept development and experimentation services. We greatly appreciate the support from the British Embassy and HM Ambassador to the Netherlands Joanna Roper and are excited at the opportunity to support the RNLAF during the next 18 months and remain committed to supporting the air force’s longer-term operational threat replication needs.”
Ludy Marcus, Head of Procurement Mission Support Systems at the Dutch Ministerie van Defensie commented: “We are pleased to be in a position where we are working towards a contract that will enable us to partner with one of the world’s leading providers for Adversary Air, demonstrating their commitment to establishing a formal agreement. This collaboration aims to secure mission-critical training capabilities, ensuring our pilots are optimally prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to military threats, thereby safeguarding the security of the Netherlands and its allies”.
