{"id":9346,"date":"2018-04-22T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shiftynl-photography.nl\/?p=9346"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T08:11:06","slug":"frisian-flag-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiftynl-photography.nl\/nl\/2018\/04\/22\/frisian-flag-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Frisian Flag 2018, Large Scale Military Exercise."},"content":{"rendered":"

Frisian Flag 2018<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\nOriginally published in April 2018, refreshed in 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

From Sunday 8 to Friday 20 April 2018, Leeuwarden Air Base hosted the large-scale international exercise Frisian Flag. On 16 April I headed north for an early start at the spotter’s hill<\/a> close to runway 05. I’d barely parked the car before the first wave took off \u2708\ufe0f<\/p>\n

What is Frisian Flag?<\/h3>\n

Frisian Flag prepares military aircrew from different countries to work together in a real conflict. Everyone speaks a different language on the ground, so practising together makes sure communication never becomes the weak spot in the air.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\"French<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Two waves of fast jets<\/h3>\n

Except for the two Polish MiG-29 Fulcrums, every participating country launched in the first wave, returning about an hour and a half later. After a break of roughly an hour, the second wave started.<\/p>\n

And what a line-up: French Mirage 2000Ds on afterburner, Rafales, F-15 Eagles, a Typhoon, a Spanish Hornet, Polish and Dutch F-16s (including J-015, the former Orange Lion \ud83e\udd81) and even the black Falcon 20 G-FRAT.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\"Polish<\/div>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\nBy the end of the day I had taken more than 3,200 photos (oh my god\u2026) \ud83d\ude05 But it felt great to be back close to the base again.<\/p>\n

Below you’ll find a selection of my favourite shots \ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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