http://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/verva ... 79213.html
sums up today's proceedings nicely...
Vervanging F-16's: 'Er zijn geen aantoonbare professionele fouten gemaakt'
13/04/18 om 14:09 - Bijgewerkt om 18:55
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Vervanging F-16's: 'Er zijn geen aantoonbare professionele fouten gemaakt'
13/04/18 om 14:09 - Bijgewerkt om 18:55
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthomp ... d96953ebf4Why Belgium's Pick Of Its Next Fighter Is Pivotal For Europe's Future Security
During the Middle Ages, when the area around modern-day Belgium was a patchwork of contending fiefdoms, Flanders was the heartland of the tournament culture in which knights would compete to prove their warrior skills. As historian Jonathan Phillips observes, "The need for contingents of knights from different regions to meet up and learn how to co-ordinate operations with each other could prove invaluable on crusade."
Much has changed in the Low Countries during the intervening millennium, but the need of allies to hone their warfighting skills and practice fighting in coalitions has not. Belgians may understand this better than any other people on Earth, because their country -- which became independent in 1830 -- has repeatedly been a battleground for neighboring states. The Belgians have learned to believe deeply in the value of collective security.
So Belgium's capital of Brussels is the headquarters of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Together, these two institutions have allowed the kingdom to become one of the wealthiest, most peaceful nations in the world, with a standard of living few others can match. All you have to do is look at the country's history, though, to see how easily things can go awry.
Against that backdrop, the Belgian government is currently approaching a final decision on which of several tactical aircraft will be its next-generation fighter. The main choice seems to be between America's F-35 fighter and an indigenous European fighter called the Typhoon. Companies involved in making both aircraft contribute to my think tank and/or are consulting clients.
The two planes are very different. The U.S. F-35 has a single engine and is stealthy, meaning invisible of radar. The Typhoon is a twin-engine plane that is not stealthy. Just knowing those two facts would tell any aerospace expert that the Typhoon is less survivable in wartime and more expensive to maintain. The version of the F-35 Belgium is considering buying was conceived to be no more expensive to build and operate than the Cold War F-16s it will replace.
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Belgium itself has operated several dozen F-16s for four decades, and thus knows the companies that built the plane well. They are the same companies that have built the F-35 -- Lockheed Martin integrates the airframe, United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney produces the engine. After 9,000 flight tests without a single mishap, it is clear they have built a worthy successor to the F-16. The F-35 greatly out-performs legacy fighters in key missions and basic functionality.
Most importantly, F-35 is the only aircraft currently being produced anywhere that is invisible to Russian radars. It thus is the sole plane available to NATO allies that will be able to fly unimpeded in Eastern European air space during the early days of a future East-West war, suppressing enemy air defenses, destroying hostile aircraft, and blunting the advance of attacking ground forces. Other fighters, including Typhoon, would likely suffer horrific losses trying to accomplish these goals.
So if the Belgian government's choice of a future fighter were based solely on operational merit, the decision would be easy to make. But Belgium is also a founding member of the European Union, and its capital hosts the European Parliament. Given recent transatlantic frictions, some players may call for a "European" solution to the fighter requirement, even if it is inferior in price and performance.
That kind of thinking is dangerous. All of the original partners on F-35 except Australia were NATO countries, including several of Belgium's neighbors. The United Kingdom, for instance, plans to buy 138 F-35s; BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defense contractor, is a key contributor to F-35 even though it also participates in Typhoon. Like the knights that jousted in Flanders long ago, Belgian military leaders need to think about how they best could contribute to a wartime coalition.
Obviously, purchasing an American fighter would help defuse complaints that Europeans spend too little on their own defense. But there are other compelling reasons for buying the more survivable F-35. It is the only plane in the competition equipped to carry the tactical nuclear weapons that deter aggression from the East -- a role in which Belgium's air force has long participated. And it is the fighter other countries such as South Korea and Israel have chosen when contemplating their own demanding defense needs.
There is a reason why the F-35 has never lost a competition to other fighters, and it has nothing to do with the charm of U.S. leaders. The plane is truly revolutionary, unlike anything Russia or other potential adversaries are likely to have before mid-century. Given the central role that Belgium plays in NATO and the European Union, it is important that Brussels send a message it believes in the durability of the Atlantic Alliance and the future of collective security by picking the best plane for assuring the continent's future security.
As for the companies offering the F-35, they need to leverage their deep roots in Belgian industry to deliver an industrial solution that works well for Flanders, Wallonia and the entire Belgian state. The companies say they have identified numerous technology projects in which Belgian industry can participate if Brussels picks the F-35. That better be so, because one thing NATO doesn't need is for a key member of the alliance to pick a next-generation fighter incapable of matching the performance of aircraft operated by other allies.
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...andOctober 19, 2018 / 6:30 PM / 2 days ago
Belgium seen picking Lockheed F-35 over Eurofighter
Belgium is likely to decide which fighter jet to buy to replace its ageing F-16s
by the end of this month,
several sources have told Reuters,
and industry experts expect it to pick Lockheed Martin’s F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The multi-billion dollar decision, widely watched in the aerospace industry,
had been expected in July before the NATO summit in Brussels.
It was postponed due to Belgian local elections last Sunday
and concern about a report
suggesting the life of the existing F-16 fleet could have been extended.
Washington extended the terms of the F-35 bid
for 34 fighter jets by two weeks through Oct. 31, 2018 at Brussels’ request,
U.S. sources said,
adding that any further delay would trigger changes in pricing.
No comment was available from the Belgian defence ministry
but official sources have indicated
that a decision on the choice of warplane is likely this month.
HLN wrote:"The choice (F35) has been made; the PM is looking for the best way to communicate the decision"
And here is the reason why the F-35 was the wrong choice for Belgium (French): https://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique ... 46325.htmlBoavida wrote: ↑28 Oct 2018, 09:56 The F-35 was the best choice.
10 reasons why the F-35 is the best option for Belgium (Dutch): https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/tien ... 85859.html
If you know the author a bit of the Le Vif article, then you know what to expect even without reading the actual article... He gets a bit borng after a while ... anyway, I read it, and as expected, the usual communautarian trash ... Why dont we ask the opinion of the staff at Florennes? I know two of them, and surpirse surprise what they think about the choice of F35...Boavida wrote: ↑28 Oct 2018, 09:56 The F-35 was the best choice.
10 reasons why the F-35 is the best option for Belgium (Dutch): https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/tien ... 85859.html