It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the Luchtvaartafdeling (English: aviation department) of the Dutch Army, which was founded in 1913.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force was preceded by the Army Aviation Group (Luchtvaartafdeling, abbreviation LVA), founded in 1913.

The Netherlands maintained a neutral position during World War I and the Army Aviation Group did not take part in any action.

Pilot training was opened and established for ranks including officers in technical, aerial photography, meteorological and navigation flights.

[3] After the end of World War I the Dutch government cut the defence budget and the Army Aviation Group was almost dissolved.

The Douglas bombers were used as fighters because no suitable bombs were available; these aircraft were poorly suited for this role and eight were shot down and three destroyed on the ground in the first hours of the conflict.

In recognition of their actions Queen Wilhelmina granted the highest Dutch military decoration, the Militaire Willemsorde (MWO), to the Army Aviation Brigade collectively.

Although their personnel were predominantly from the Navy Air Service, Army Aviation aircrew also served with 320 Sqn until the end of the war.

The separate Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (ML-KNIL; Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Military Air Service) continued in the Netherlands East Indies (NEI), until its occupation by Japan in 1942.

Equipped with Kittyhawk fighters, it flew many missions under Australian command, including the recapturing of Dutch New Guinea.

[7] During the Indonesian War of Independence, the air force committed ground attacks and transported material and personnel.

Negotiations over the country were conducted for years, but tensions grew until Indonesia broke diplomatic relations with the Netherlands at the end of the 1950s.

The first Air Force contribution was the installation of two MkIV early warning radars on Biak and Woendi islands.

The political situation between the Netherlands and Indonesia continued to deteriorate and in 1960 the Dutch government deployed reinforcements.

For the Dutch Air Force this meant the establishment of an Air Defense Command for New Guinea (Commando Luchtverdediging Nederlands Nieuw-Guinea - CLV NNG) consisting of: The Dutch government deployed a squadron consisting of 12 Hawker Hunter Mk.4 AD fighters and two Alouette II SAR helicopters.

One year later the Dutch government deployed another 12 Hawker Hunter Mk6 AD fighters; these aircraft carried more fuel and had a larger combat radius.

Therefore, and because of international political pressure the Dutch government was forced to agree to the peaceful surrender of New Guinea.

During the operations over FRY RNLAF F-16s flew reconnaissance (306 Sqn detachments from Volkel AB were in theatre throughout the operations), enforced the Bosnian no-fly zone, dropped bombs on Udbina AB (1994), successfully dropped an unguided bomb on a moving Serb tank during the fall of Srebrenica (1995), and took part in Deliberate Force later in the summer of 1995.

In May 1999 during the Kosovo crisis a RNLAF F-16AM pilot Major Peter Tankink shot down[10] a Yugoslavian MiG-29 with an AMRAAM, but the force was more recognized for its high bombing accuracy.

KDC-10 tankers refuelled allied aircraft over the Adriatic Sea, and C-130 Hercules transports flew daily sorties from Eindhoven AB to logistically support the operation.

[13] As part of the expanded NATO ISAF mission in southern Afghanistan in August 2006, the Royal Netherlands Air Force had three CH-47D Chinook of 298 Sq stationed at Kandahar Airfield.

On 12 November 2006 eight F-16s transferred from Kabul International Airport to Kandahar Airfield, Additionally, a detachment of six (later four) AH-64D Apache helicopters had been stationed of Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan province.

[14] On 31 August 2006 a Royal Netherlands Air Force (Michael "Sofac" Donkervoort) pilot was killed when his plane crashed during a mission to support British ground troops in Helmand province.

The former USAFE side will be in use by ground units relocated from Kamp van Zeist and will be called "Camp New Amsterdam".

[9] In October 2014 the Netherlands Air Force joined the US and its Allies fighting ISIL, deploying eight F-16s (of which two are in reserve) to Jordan.

[16] 303 Squadron (Agusta Bell AB 412SP) provided search and rescue within Dutch Flight Information Region) until 1 January 2015 when the unit was disbanded.

The Netherlands is the lead nation in NATO initiative to replace and pool existing Tanker / Transport, including Luxembourg, Belgium (1), Germany (4), Norway (1) within EATC, in 2014 it was announced that the Airbus A330 MRTT has been selected and two are ordered for the Royal Netherlands Air Force with options to eight aircraft based in adjoining countries.

In 2021 a Brik-II satellite was launched to provide the Royal Netherlands Air Force with intelligence regarding navigation, communication and observation of the earth.

[22] In November 2024 it was announced that in 2027 the Dutch satellite PAMI-1 will be launched and will be used by the Defensie Space Security Center (DSSC), which is part of the RNLAF.

Since 2017, RNLAF KDC-10 and C-130H Hercules are deployed to the Middle East to assist the United States led coalition in Operation Inherent Resolve.