U.S. Department of Defense to store Spare Parts for F-35 aircraft in The Netherlands

The Netherlands will be storing all spare parts for all F-35 aircraft in Europe, as recently announced by the U.S. Department of Defense. This will entail storing, shipping and handling spare parts for over four hundred F-35 aircraft for the coming decades. The Woensdrecht Logistics Center (LCW) of the Royal Dutch Air Force will store these items.

Integrated service package

To provide smart maintenance for F-35 aircraft, the parts will be sent to a central storage site in Europe, from where they can be rapidly packaged and shipped, covering all customs formalities and export permits. This European warehouse at the LCW will be assigned a priority post at Schiphol Airport: transport will be not only over land but also by air. The approach proposed by the Netherlands will keep logistics costs affordable and inventories optimal and is intended to ensure that F-35 aircraft are available. The Pentagon selected the bid from the Netherlands because of the integrated service package.

F-35 engine maintenance

The Netherlands was previously designated as one of the countries performing maintenance on the engines of the new fighter planes, together with e.g., Australia, Norway and Turkey. At the LCW a trial alignment and a workplace are under construction as part of the worldwide maintenance infrastructure for F-35 engines.