Le Soir : Number one on the army’s list of concerns, Belgium has no choice but to replace its F-16 fighters

Posted on 26 October 2013 by elanlanguages

General Caelenberge deems that it's no longer possible to update the current fighters.
The budgetary and industrial impact of this upgrade alone will extend beyond the defense sector.

Even if Belgium replaced only half of its present F-16 fleet of 64 fighters at €75 million each, the expense would reach the €2.4 billion mark, almost the entire army budget. What if over the period of one year, all the police officers, firefighter and magistrate salaries, all the Interior and Justice departments expenses were absorbed by a single military purchase such as around thirty F-35 Lightning II fighters?

Read more at http://blog.lesoir.be/lesoirinenglish/2013/10/26/number-one-on-the-armys-list-of-concerns-belgium-has-no-choice-but-to-replace-its-f-16-fighters/

mil.be : Operatie Guardian Falcon: veel meer dan F-16’s / Opération Guardian Falcon : bien plus que des F-16

Operatie Guardian Falcon: veel meer dan F-16’s
België neemt al bijna vijf jaar deel aan de missie Guardian Falcon in Afghanistan. Een detachement van zes F-16's staat paraat op Kandahar Airfield of KAF. Naast de piloten zijn een honderdtal militairen hier dagelijks in de weer om de goede afloop van de operatie te verzekeren.

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Opération Guardian Falcon : bien plus que des F-16
Depuis bientôt cinq ans, la Belgique participe à la mission Guardian Falcon en Afghanistan. Un détachement de six F-16 est présent sur le Kandahar Airfield ou KAF. Aux pilotes, s'ajoutent une centaine de militaires s'affairant sur la base afghane afin d'assurer le bon déroulement de cette opération.

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Video: "OCU, Semper Vulture!"

Thanks Leo OCU, Semper Vulture! by Raf Van Brussel Song naar aanleiding van het 25 jarige bestaan van de Operational Conversion Unit in Kleine-Brogel & mijn 'peterschap' van dit fantastisch smaldeel. Stil forming Belgium's finest...Semper Vulture! All footage recorded on the 25000 hours flight @ EBBL on november 12th 2012, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the OCU. Copyright Van Brussel / Mahoney ©2012 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

Commandant Michael Artiges brings experience to Luke Air Force Base

11/2/2012 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Many people know about Luke Air Force Base's foreign units the 425th Fighter Squadron, and the 21st FS, but there are other foreign officers here as part of an international exchange program.

The Military Personnel Exchange Program has given one pilot with the Belgian air force the opportunity to come here to learn, as well as help teach new B-course students.
Belgian Commandant Michael Artiges, 308th Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, was selected from five candidates for two exchange positions, one in Portugal and one in the U.S.
This is not his first time in the U.S. as a pilot. In 1996, Artiges spent nine months as a B-Course student in Tucson learning to fly with the Arizona National Guard.

"My experience in Tucson was to help the Belgian air force better understand how training in the U.S. was compared to ours," he said. "There are more flying days and other differences we used to better our program. Unfortunately, after about five classes they canceled the program."

This time is different for Artiges since he brought his family.

"It's a challenge being back," he said. "When you're alone, it's easy to fix the small things that come up, but now with the family here, it's a different ballgame. It was challenging for my family at the beginning, but now that school is fixed and the children are in classes, my wife has been able to return to school to better her English."

Living in the U.S. was a goal for Artiges and his wife, but the process to get here took him a few tries.

"This was not my first time applying to the program," he said. "I tried before with no luck. My wife and I were hoping to get into the program, specifically the position in the U.S., and finally we got it."

Now as part of the Emerald Knights he is going through familiarization training.

"I am almost done with my initial training," he said. "The training is to familiarize me with the aircraft I will be flying here. After that, I will start my instructor pilot training and soon after begin training incoming pilots."

Source: Luke Air Force Base

Best regards,

Daniel

Crash van een Belgische F-16 tijdens de landingsfase te kleine Brogel

Crash van een F-16 tijdens de landingsfase

Op 16 augustus om 14 44 u vertrok een F-16 van de basis van Kleine-Brogel (provincie Limburg) voor een trainingsvlucht. Bij het terugkeren naar de basis voerde de piloot een lage overvlucht uit. De controletoren heeft daarbij vuur waargenomen aan de achterkant van het toestel.

Het ongeval voltrok zich om 15.01u op 1 km van de piste van Kleine-Brogel. De piloot heeft met succes zijn schietstoel gebruikt en werd veilig en wel teruggevonden.

Een onderzoek is opgestart, maar volgens de eerste informatie zou het kunnen gaan over een birdstrike (aanvaring met vogel(s)). De piloot zelf gaf dit aan in zijn communicatie met de controletoren.

Bron: Mil.be

Belgian Air Force F-16 had to make an emergency landing at Skrydstrup Air Force Base (Denmark).

Skrydstrup Air Force Base (DK) experienced drama last week when a Belgian Air Force F-16 was forced to make an emergency landing due to a technical malfunction. The aircraft had been on a training mission when flight instruments indicated that the pressure in the cabin was falling.

Fire trucks and ambulances were assembled as a precaution, but the plane landed without incident.

“The plane could land without issue, and it is standard procedure to assemble rescue units when a plane suffers a problem,” Rune Dyrholm from Flyvertaktisk Kommando told Ekstra Bladet tabloid.

Source and more info at: The Copenhagen Post


Regards,


Daniel

video: "The F-16 Story - AFSC STAFF FILM REPORT 257 (1977) United States Air Force."

The F-16 Story - AFSC STAFF FILM REPORT 257 (1977) United States Air Force. BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES ABRAHAMSON, F-16 PROGRAM DIRECTOR, PRESENTS THE F-16 FIGHTER. HE DESCRIBES THE UNIQUE COMPETITIVE ORIGINS OF THE PROGRAM AND THE MULTI-NATION ASPECTS OF THE CONSORTIUM FORMED TO PRODUCE IT. USING A MODEL AND ENGINEERING FILM, HE DETAILS THE AIR-TO-AIR AND AIR-TO- GROUND ROLES OF THIS LOW-COST, LIGHT WEIGHT ADDITION TO NATO AND THE US AIR FORCE. HE DISCUSSES THE UNUSUAL FEATURES, OUTSTANDING CAPABILITIES, AND ECONOMIC AND MILITARY VALUE OF THIS ADVANCED TECHNLOGY WEAPONS SYSTEM.
© 2012 YouTube, LLC 901 Cherry Ave, San Bruno, CA 94066

http://www.ailes-militaires-belges.be : Quick Reaction Alert

http://www.ailes-militaires-belges.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=338:quick-reaction-alert&catid=19:missions&Itemid=709

Quick Reaction Alert

Scramble!

Le ciel est bas sur Florennes en ce début d'après-midi. A quelques dizaines de mètres de la piste secondaire, entre deux hangarettes, se dresse un petit bâtiment en briques, le "QRA". A l'intérieur, quatre hommes : deux techniciens et deux pilotes. Ils ont pris la relève de leurs collègues à 8 heures du matin. Tous les quatre, ils vont effectuer un tour de garde un peu particulier pendant 24 heures.

SABCA (Belgium) to Extend Co-operation with USAF for Another Five Years

As a conclusion of a full competitive Request For Proposal, the US Government, Ogden Air Logistic Center (OO-ALC), has awarded S.A.B.C.A (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) with a new five-years Indefinite Delivery contract for Depot-level Maintenance Support to the F-16 fleet operated by U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), covering Fiscal Years 2012 to 2016.

S.A.B.C.A. started its common history with the F-16 more than 30 years ago, by the assembly and in-flight delivery of 222 new F-16 A/C, on behalf of three different end-users. Since then, more than 1150 F-16 A/C rolled out of the Charleroi flightline after having been either assembled, upgraded, inspected, repaired or re-painted. A long-time partner of the USAF - more than 330 F-16 A/C were processed in Charleroi on their behalf since 1983 - SABCA started its current co-operation with OO-ALC in 2001, after winning a competition for the implementation of the NVIS-IDM program on the USAFE Blk 40 F-16.

In March 2005, as a conclusion of another competitive Request For Proposal, the US Government awarded S.A.B.C.A with a first seven-years Indefinite Delivery contract for in-theater depot-level support to the USAFE F-16 fleet.

The new contract awarded last week in conclusion of a one-year long re-competition procedure will extend this successful partnership for another five years.

The choice made by the US Government demonstrates its confidence in S.A.B.C.A.'s abilities to provide accurate, on-time, competitive answers to the most demanding requirements from its customers and strengthens S.A.B.C.A.'s undisputed leadership in F-16 Depot-Level Support in Europe.

This workload will come in addition to the other programs currently performed by S.A.B.C.A. for the. Belgian Defence, USAF and several other foreign customers. 

 Source: SABCA; issued Nov. 22, 2011

 

Farewell Mitch - Welcome Grat

During a ceremony organised at Kleine Brogel airbase on Friday November 4th, 2011, Belgian Air Force F-16 Demo Pilot Cdt Vl Michel "Mitch" Beulen has made the last of his memorable demonstration with his F-16 called "The Vortex". For Mitch is was the conclusion of his third display season and as "tradition wants it, he passed on this demanding but very rewarding task to Capt Avi Renaud "Grat" Thys. As of 2012 "Grat", who is a member of n° 350 Squadron based at Florennes, becomes the 16th F-16 demo pilot of the Belgian Air Force. For the occasion a number of former F-16 "demonstrators" came together to thank "Mitch" for his wonderful presentations and to welcome "Grat".

Last Demo by Mitch

Gathering of former Belgian Air Force  F-16 demo-pilots

The new Belgian Air Force F-16 demo pilot for the 2012 display season: Capt Avi Renaud "Grat" Thys