The Belgian government plans to retire a further 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters, and has signed an agreement with the French ministry of defence to establish a joint advanced flying training mechanism, writes Herman de Wulf.
Defence minister Andr‚ Flahaut says the air force's operational F-16 fleet will be reduced from 90 to 72 aircraft by year-end, and cut further to total just 60 aircraft by 2015. The surplus aircraft will be mothballed at Weelde airbase and offered for sale.
Primary flight training will continue at Beauvechain airbase near Brussels using Siai-Marchetti SF260Ms, but advanced training will move to Cazaux in southern France. An initial batch of six Sabca-built Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainers, flight instructors and support personnel will leave Beauvechain for Cazaux in August, where they will be attached to the French air force's flying training unit.
A Belgian defence source says a language issue has yet to be resolved - Belgian primary flight instruction is given in Flemish or French, before switching to English for advanced training. The French air force uses the French language throughout its flying activities.
Beauvechain will become the new home for operations of Belgium's Agusta A109 and Aerospatiale Alouette II helicopters and the former army light aviation component's Britten-Norman Islander liaison aircraft. The aircraft are set for retirement, with North Sea patrols to be assumed by B-Hunter unmanned air vehicles, 18 of which are in service with the Belgian army.
These are deployed with the service's 80A battalion at Elsenborn, but frequently also operate from nearby Koksijde airbase. The B-Hunter is a Sonaca-built variant of the Israel Aircraft Industries Hunter, with television camera and forward-looking infrared sensor.
Source: Flight International
