Dennis Luyt (19 september 1963) was a general in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He served as Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force from June 10, 2016 until April 14, 2023. [1] [2] He left his position due to retirement and feeling that he completed everything he wanted to do and that it was time for someone new. [3] He is currently happily unemployed and taking some time off. [4]
The Netherlands Armed Forces are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. The service branches are supplemented by various joint support organisations. In addition, local conscript forces exist on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba (AruMil) and Curaçao (CurMil). These operate under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Netherlands Marine Corps. The armed forces are organisationally part of the Ministry of Defence.
The Royal Netherlands Navy is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces. It was founded on 8 January 1488, making it the third oldest naval force in the world.
The Netherlands Marine Corps is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the Regiment de Marine on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt and famous Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It is the third-oldest still-active marine corps in the world.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the Luchtvaartafdeling of the Dutch Army, which was founded in 1913. The aerobatic display team of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, active from 1979 until 2019, was the Solo Display Team.
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William, is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Orange. Its motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw. The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less often awarded, it is open to everyone regardless of rank or nobility—not only to Dutch military, but also to foreigners. To date, membership in the Order is extremely rarely awarded, and only for exceptional bravery in battle.
The Royal Netherlands Army is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the Staatse Leger was raised making the Dutch standing army one of the oldest in the world. It fought in the Napoleonic Wars, World War II, the Indonesian War of Independence, and the Korean War, and served with NATO on the Cold War frontiers in West Germany from the 1950s to the 1990s.
The Royal Military Academy is the service academy for the Dutch Army, the Dutch Air Force and the Royal Marechaussee. Located in Breda, Southern Netherlands, the KMA has trained future officers since 1828.
The Fennek, named after the fennec, or LGS Fennek, with LGS being short for Leichter Gepanzerter Spähwagen in German, is a four-wheeled armed reconnaissance vehicle produced by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Dutch Defence Vehicle Systems. The Turkish company FNSS Defence Systems acquired the right for licence production in 2004. It was developed for both the German Army and Royal Netherlands Army to replace their current vehicles.
Gilze-Rijen Air Base is a military airbase in the south of Netherlands. It is located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, which are both in North Brabant. The airport is mainly, but not exclusively used as a base for Royal Netherlands Air Force helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest one is complete with an instrument landing system (ILS) and is 2,779 metres (9,117 ft) long by 45 m (148 ft) wide in the 10/28 direction. The shorter runway is 1,996 m (6,549 ft) by 30 m (98 ft) in the 02/20 direction.
The Ministry of Defence is the Dutch Ministry responsible for the armed forces of the Netherlands and Veterans Affairs. The Ministry was created in 1813 as the "Ministry of War" and in 1928 was combined with the "Ministry of the Navy". After World War II in the ministries were separated again, in this period the Minister of War and Minister of the Navy were often the same person and the State secretary for the Navy was responsible for daily affairs of the Royal Dutch Navy. In 1959 the ministries were merged. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Defence, currently Kajsa Ollongren, assisted by the Chief of the Defence of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim since April 2021.
Volkel Air Base is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - Dutch: Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), and is located near the village of Volkel, Netherlands. It is home to one F-16 Fighting Falcon squadron, No 312 and a F-35 squadron No 313. A third squadron formerly present at the airfield, No 311 Sqn, was officially disbanded on 27 September 2012. It also houses a maintenance, logistical, a base Squadron for the RNLAF, and also the 703rd Munitions Support Squadron, part of the 52nd Fighter Wing from the United States Air Force. Besides military use, a trauma helicopter operated by ANWB Medical Air Assistance on behalf of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre is based here. The Dienst Luchtvaart Politie also makes use of Volkel Air Base.
The Solo Display Team was the aerobatics display team of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) and consisted of three elements. The disbanded F-16 Solo Display Team used the fighter jet F-16 and the AH-64D Apache Solo Display Team uses the helicopter AH-64 Apache. The PC-7 Solo Display Team flew the low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft Pilatus PC-7.
The Korps Commandotroepen (KCT) is the elite special forces unit of the Royal Netherlands Army. The KCT traces its origins to the Second World War with the founding of No. 2 (Dutch) Troop, and the founding of the Korps Speciale Troepen during the Indonesian War of Independence. At present, the unit is tasked with conducting the full spectrum of special operations, its principal tasks being direct action, special reconnaissance, military assistance and counter-terrorism.
Brik-II is a first satellite of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. On 30 November 2017, former Dutch Air Force Commander Dennis Luyt signed a contract with ISISpace, NLR and TU Delft. The nanosatellite is designed to provide the Royal Netherlands Air Force with intelligence regarding navigation, communication and observation of the Earth. The satellite was launched on 30 June 2021 by Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne.
The Netherlands Maritime Special Operations Forces is the special forces unit of the Marine Corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It is one of the three principal units tasked with special operations in the Netherlands. The unit can be deployed worldwide to conduct special operations, including counter-terrorism both overseas and domestically, with a maritime focus. Its operations are planned and coordinated by the Netherlands Special Operations Command, as are the operations of the KCT.
The Fire Support Command is the artillery arm of the Royal Netherlands Army. The command consists of 41 Artillery Battalion, a staff, the Fire Support School and the artillery training grounds and is part of the Operational Support Command Land.
Leo Beulen was the Commander of the Royal Netherlands Army between 24 March 2016 until August 2019.
Ida Laura Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a Dutch pilot and social worker who was a member of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War and a pilot in the British Air Transport Auxiliary. She was the only woman to receive the Vliegerkruis, the Airman's Cross.
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