The Joint Ground-based Air Defence Command (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: ''Defensie Grondgebonden Luchtverdedigingscommando, DGLC'') is a joint command of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, 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 was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

, formed in 2012 after amalgamation of the ''Commando Luchtdoelartillerie'' (Anti-aircraft Artillery Command) of the Royal Netherlands Army and the ''Groep Geleide Wapens'' (Group Guided Weapons) of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal 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 ...

. The command is responsible for all ground-based air defence tasks and consists of both army and air force personnel. The DGLC employs an integrated layered air-defence approach featuring

FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters and drones as th ...

, NASAMS II and

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...

systems.

Units

800 Support Squadron

The 800 Support Squadron (

: ''800 Ondersteuningssquadron'') consists of a staff and three

flights Flight is the process by which an object moves without direct support from a surface. Flight may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Flight'' (1929 film), an American adventure film * ''Flight'' (2009 film), a South Korean d ...

. The CIS flight is responsible for data and voice communication between the operational units. The logistic flight provides supply and transport services. The force protection flight guards and protects the operational units. and is responsible for the education and training of personnel, and the maintenance of materiel.

802 Patriot Squadron

802 Patriot Squadron is responsible for the deployment of the

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

system. The squadron consists of a staff and six flights: a logistic flight, a command and control flight, and four Patriot flights each consisting of a complete fire unit. The fourth Flight was activated on July 1st 2024

11 Air Defence Battery

The 11 Air Defence Battery (

: ''11 Luchtverdedigingsbatterij'') was activated on June 1st 2023. The battery comprises a staff, a Counter-UAS platoon and a Stinger platoon.

12 Air Defence Battery

The 12 Air Defence Battery (

: 12 Luchtverdedigingsbatterij) consists of four platoons. Together with the 13 Air Defence Battery 'Ypenburg' the battery is responsible for short and medium range air defence. The battery comprises a staff, a signals group and four operational platoons: * NASAMS Platoon, operates

Hensoldt Hensoldt AG ''(HENSOLDT)'' is a multinational corporation headquartered in Germany which focuses on sensor technologies for protection and surveillance missions in the Military, defence, security and aerospace sectors. The main product areas are r ...

and

AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel The AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel is an X-band electronically steered pulse-Doppler 3D radar system used to alert and cue Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) weapons to the locations of hostile targets approaching their front line forces. It is currently pr ...

radar systems, and the

NASAMS 2 NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) and RTX Corpor ...

air defence system. * Stinger Platoon, provides short range air defence with the Fennek Stinger Weapon Platform and shoulder-launched

MANPADS Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters and also used against low-flying cruise missi ...

. *

Counter rocket, artillery, and mortar Counter rocket, artillery, and mortar, abbreviated C-RAM or counter-RAM, is a set of systems used to detect and/or destroy incoming rocket artillery, rockets, artillery, and mortar (weapon), mortars before they hit their targets, or provide ea ...

(C-RAM) Platoon, responsible for detecting rockets, artillery, mortars and drones using the UDIS sensor system. * Logistic Platoon, responsible for maintenance, supply and recovery of the units within the battery.

13 Air Defence Battery 'Ypenburg'

The 13 Air Defence Battery 'Ypenburg' (

: ''13 Luchtverdedigingsbatterij 'Ypenburg') consists of four platoons. Together with the 12 Air Defence Battery the battery is responsible for short and medium range air defence. The battery comprises a staff, a signals group and four operational platoons: * NASAMS Platoon, operates

and

radar systems, and the

air defence system. * Stinger Platoon, provides short range air defence with the Fennek Stinger Weapon Platform and shoulder-launched

. *

Ypenburg Leidschenveen-Ypenburg () is a Vinex-location and district of The Hague, located in the southeast. It is geographically connected to the main body of the city by only a narrow corridor. It consists of four quarters: Hoornwijk and Ypenburg on the ...

'' in 1999. This name symbolises the relationship with the 13 Air Defence Artillery Battery (

: ''13 Batterij Luchtdoelartillerie'') which was tasked with the defence of the

Dutch government The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Western Europe'' edited by A. J. G. M. Bekke, Frits M. Meer, Edward E ...

, just north of

Ypenburg Airport Ypenburg Airport (Dutch: Vliegveld Ypenburg), which later became Ypenburg Air Base was an airport in the Netherlands in Leidschenveen-Ypenburg near the city of The Hague. The ICAO code was EHYB. History The airfield was established in 1936, initi ...

during the

Battle for The Hague The Battle for The Hague () took place on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of the Netherlands. German ''Fallschirmjäger'' units were dropped in and around The Hague to capture Dutch airfields and the city itself. After securing a bridgehead, Nazi ...

Air Defence Missile Group 61

The Air Defence Missile Group 61 (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Flugabwehrraketengruppe 61'') is an air defence battalion of the

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

, consisting of approximately 300 personnel. The battery has been placed under Dutch command since 4 April 2018, and is fully integrated into the DGLC. The group operates radar-guided cannon and rocket SHORAD systems, and is based in

Todendorf Todendorf is a municipality in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Group 61 consists of a Mantis squadron, a LeFlaSys Squadron, a support squadron and a training squadron.

Education and Training Centre

The Education and Training Centre (

: ''Opleidings- en Trainingscentrum'') provides all air defence training, driving instruction and international training support. The centre operates a wide variety of advanced weapon simulators.

Ground-based Air Defence Research Centre

The Research Centre (

: ''Kenniscentrum Grondgebonden Luchtverdediging'') is responsible for obtaining, safeguarding and sharing knowledge concerning air and missile defence. This knowledge is used to shape the structure of the DGLC. In addition, the centre provides technical and tactical documentation and procedures, and supports and advices the Defence Materiel Organisation with the acquisition of new systems and materiel.

Equipment

MIM-104 Patriot

Operatie-active-fence-Het-lanceerstation-van-de-Nederlandse-Patriot-in-Turkije

The

system combats targets in the medium to long range, up to 60 kilometers. Each system covers a sector of 120 degrees against both manned and unmanned aircraft, helicopter, ballistic and cruise missiles. The DGLC operates three Patriot batteries, with another complete system in reserve. Both PAC-2 and PAC-3, which is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, missiles are in use. All Dutch systems are undergoing thorough modernisation since 2019.

AGBADS

The Army Ground-based Air Defence System (AGBADS) integrates the

medium-range, with

AMRAAM The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) ( ) is an American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. It uses active transmit-receive radar guidance instead of semi-active rece ...

missiles, and

short-range air defence systems. In addition, AGBADS utilises 2 types of radars. The NASAMS platoon operates the

radar, which is supplemented by the ''Telefunken Radar Mobil Luftraumüberwachung'' (TRML) radar system. The images of the radar systems are combined in a local air picture (LAP), which is accessible to the entire unit. The DGLC has two NASAMS systems, a system consists of: * 1 SAM Fire Control (SFC): the fire control centre from which the AMRAAM launchers and Sentinel radars are operated. * 1 AN/MPQ-64M2 Sentinel-radar: provides the SFC with an accurate air picture. * 3 NASAMS Launchers: each launcher can fire six AMRAAM (AIM-120B) missiles. Moreover, AGBADS incorporates SHORAD provided by the

. The DGLC operates 18 Fennek Stinger Weapon Platforms (SWP). The Fennek SWP is an armoured vehicle with a fully integrated Stinger Launching System (SLS). The SLS contains four ready-to-fire Stinger missiles that can be launched from two launchers, and can be operated from within the (relative) safety of the armoured vehicle. The SLS is built on a Pedestal Mounted Air Defence System (PMADS), produced by the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

company ASELSAN. Moreover, the DGLC recently reactivated a platoon operating shoulder-launched Stinger MANPADS.

LeFlaSys

The Wiesel 2 Leichtes Flugabwehrsystem (LeFlaSys, Light Air Defence System) is an air defence system mounted on the highly mobile Wiesel 2

tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.

. The ''Ozelot'' variant is equipped with two ready-to-fire Stinger missiles, and is operated by ''Flugabwehrraketengruppe 61''.

LÜR

The LÜR (''Luftraumüberwachungs Radar'') is a mobile radar system which provides the MANTIS and LeFlaSys systems of ''Flugabwehrraketengruppe 61'' with a low to medium altitude air picture.

UDIS

UDIS is an experimental sensor system that is designed with the goal to detect, identify and follow drones. It consists of compact SQUIRE (Signaal Quiet Universal Intruder Recognition Equipment) man-portable ground surveillance radar, produced by

Thales Nederland Thales Nederland B.V. (formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. or in short Signaal) is a subsidiary of the French multinational company Thales Group based in the Netherlands. The firm was founded as ''NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparate ...

, and the Ranger camera system.

Multi Mission Radar

The DGLC operates three GM200 Multi Mission Radar (MMR) systems, produced by

. The MMR is the latest radar of the 4D ASEA family, related to the

SMART-L SMART-L (Signaal Multibeam Acquisition Radar for Tracking, L band) is a long-range naval search radar introduced in 2002 by Thales Nederland, formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten (Signaal). Design The digital antenna array has 24 elements; all a ...

radar in use with the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

and various other navies. The MMR provided a detection capability for

unmanned aerial system An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

s, aircraft and missiles. The MMR is a mobile system that can be transported on the bed of a truck. File:NL-DE-GR Patriot 2016-5.jpg, Launch of a Dutch Patriot system during a joint exercise in

Chania Chania (, , ), also sometimes romanization of Greek, romanized as Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania (regional unit), Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

File:Fennek_stinger_weapon_platform_SWP_Polen.jpg, Fennek SWP during an exercise in

Ustka Ustka (, , ) is a spa town in the Middle Pomerania region of northern Poland with 17,100 inhabitants (2001). It is part of Słupsk County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located on the Slovincian Coast on the Baltic Sea. It is a port town and po ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

File:TRML radar DGLC op een MAN 8x8 vrachtwagen.jpg, TRML radar on a MAN HX 8x8 truck File:New radar Defensie Grondgebonden Luchtverdedigingscommando 02.jpg,

MMR (

Ground Master 200 The Ground Master 200 (GM200) is a medium range AESA 3D radar manufactured by Thales Group. The GM200 can operate both as an independent air surveillance radar or as the sensor module of an air defence system. The GM200 also features a surf ...

) radar on the bed of a Scania Gryphus 6x6 truck File:MANTIS_Flugabwehrsystem_Todendorf.jpg,

MANTIS Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate a ...

firing during an exercise on the homebase of '' Flugabwehrraketengruppe 61'' in

Deployments

* From 2013 to 2015, the DGLC deployed Patriot systems and personnel as part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Operation Active Fence Operation Active Fence is an ongoing NATO operation to protect the Turkey, Turkish southern border region with Syria as part of the ongoing Syrian Civil War. Background and initial operation The Arab Spring was a wave of uprisings and pro ...

to protect the

southern border region with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

as part of the ongoing Syrian Civil War. * The DGLC provided layered air defence for the

2014 Nuclear Security Summit The 2014 Nuclear Security Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit held in The Hague, the Netherlands, on March 24 and 25, 2014. It was the third edition of the conference, succeeding the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit. The 2014 summit was attended by ...

, which took place in the city of

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

References

{{Reflist Brigades of the Netherlands Missile defense Royal Netherlands Army