Woensdrecht Air Base is a military airfield of the Royal Netherlands Air Force near the village of Hoogerheide in the municipality of Woensdrecht, about 10 km south of Bergen op Zoom. The airfield is close to the A58 freeway and the border with Belgium.
In the 1950s, Aviolanda opened a production line and maintenance facility at the air base. Aviolanda was part of Fokker from 1947 to 1949 and completely merged into it in 1968. In the mid-1980s a new runway was constructed. This was a requirement set by the US Air Force before it gave Fokker permission to maintain F-16s at the airbase. The bankruptcy of Fokker in 1996 hit the area hard. Stork took over the healthy parts of the company. After some rebranding, the Fokker name came back into use in 2010. Fokker Technologies consists of several divisions, involved in production for and maintenance of many types of aircraft. Divisions at Woensdrecht Air Base also produce parts for the F-35 Lightning II.
In 2020, Woensdrecht Air Base has a number of divisions of Fokker Technologies, some of which are located on the base. Firms such as Terma A/S, Elbit Systems and Boeing also have offices on or around the base; these employ around 1,000 people.
The following projects were secured with the associated contracts for Dutch companies in connection with the purchase of the F-35:
Fokker Aerostructures (flaperons, cruiser flaps and door systems)
Fokker Elmo (cabling)
Fokker Landing Gear (catching cables)
