The Belgian Ministry
of Defence (MoD) has issued a request for information (RFI) to five foreign
government agencies regarding various aircraft that could replace the national
air force's ageing F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet.
Several defence
ministry officials were quoted by Belga News Agency as saying that the RFI does
not commit to a future purchase nor to the selection of a specific aircraft,
but "aims to gather information" beyond the open-source data used for
initial evaluation.
One of the sources
said that the RFI was issued following approval from the outgoing defence
minister Pieter De Crem, and does not mention the number of aircraft to be
acquired.
Issued to the Joint
Program Office (JPO), the Navy Integrated Program Office (NIPO), the
Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) of the French Ministry of Defence, the Swedish
Defence and Security Export Agency (FXM) and the UK Ministry of Defence, the
RFI marks the first step in a process that will lead to the acquisition of a
new fighter before the retirement of the F-16s starts in 2023.
While JPO is in
charge of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II programme, the NIPO, DGA, FXM and
UK MoD look after Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Saab JAS-39
Gripen, and Eurofighter Typhoon multi-role combat aircraft, respectively.
"One of the sources said that the
RFI was issued following approval from the outgoing defence minister Pieter De
Crem."
The MoD prefers a
government-to-government agreement, rather than a commercial purchase from a
contractor, according to the officials.
For the first time,
De Crem had voiced his opinion in December 2013 to acquire around 40 new
fighters during the incoming legislature, to ensure Belgium remains a reliable
partner within Nato and the European Union (EU), according to the news agency.
The acquisition is
expected to cost €4bn, and the selection is likely to take place in 2015 or
early 2016, to facilitate the aircraft's entry into service between 2023 and
2025, when the F-16s will retire, subject to approval from the next federal
government.
The Belgian Air Force
currently has 54 F-16s in its inventory and all of them have completed the
mid-life update (MLU).
Source: airforce-technoogy.com
