This March 27, 2023, is a great day for Florennes Air Base. Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder at the controls of a bulldozer placed the first stone of the complex which will host the first Belgian Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets from 2025.
It was in April 2021 that the consortium led by Jan de Nul n.v. won the building construction contract. This consortium includes design agencies Arcadis and Burns & McDonnell. Each F-35A complex is made according to the formula “Design, Build & Maintain” (DBM). A first partial provisional delivery of the buildings in Florennes is scheduled for the summer of 2024. A total of 17 Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft will be housed in the new facility.
Belgian Defence chose to build an almost identical centralised F-35 complex at each base. This complex will consist of four main parts:
The administrative part includes, in addition to the necessary offices and meeting rooms, all the infrastructure necessary for the current comfort of the staff: changing rooms with showers, cafeteria, coffee corners, etc.
The logistics part includes a storage area for spare parts and an infrastructure for the maintenance of the F-35A which consists of six maintenance docks and houses the necessary workshops such as those for engine maintenance.
The Special Access Programme Facility (SAPF) is the most secure part of the F-35 complex. This is where training and operations are planned, and where the flight simulators will be located, four per base. This part of the infrastructure requires special attention and a coordinated approach with American partners. After all, the facilities involved must meet high US safety standards. In addition, on a purely technical level, these installations require an environment that meets very specific requirements in the field of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning).
The ‘flightline’ of the F-35 complex will be equipped with sixteen Flightline Aircraft Shelters (FAS), where fighter aircraft will be placed in a secure environment and where frontline maintenance can also take place. Four of these sixteen shelters will be used specifically for the QRA* mission: the QRA-FAS. A Ready Storage Building (RSB) will be built next to the QRA-FAS to store the QRA’s armament. The entire facility will be connected to the existing infrastructure of the base by an apron and a taxiway.
These new infrastructures will be planned in a close and logical relationship with the existing infrastructures. The whole will result in a coherent and secure F-35 complex that will operate as a closed entity within the base.
For the realisation of this project, a public-private partnership was set up in the form of a Design, Build & Maintain (DBM). A negotiated procedure with publicity was carried out in 2020 and 2021 with three groups of contractors.
This consortium is not only responsible for the design and construction, but also for the maintenance of the infrastructure for 10 years after provisional delivery (possibly extendable for another 10 years). The proposed concept has an investment value of approximately 300 million euros per base.
Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder: “Today is an important day for our Air Component with the solemn laying of the first stone of the F-35A infrastructure. The slogan of our air force is: “Ready for the future” and the future is under construction. These infrastructures on nearly 30,000 m² are not only adapted to the needs of the aircraft but also for the personnel with a pleasant and comfortable working environment.
The latest energy techniques are also used in order to limit the ecological footprint of buildings as much as possible without making sacrifices in terms of operationality.
It is an important but necessary financial investment for the Air Component and its future.
Our defence is in full reconstruction in the literal sense as we can see here in Florennes, only in the figurative sense. The STAR plan and associated approved investments ensure a cohesive future for Defence. We are committed to our staff in collaboration with the Belgian industry. We are reaching out to young people and preparing to build the neighbourhoods of the future. A transformation that places Defence at the centre of our society in the interest of security.”
Colonel Kamensky, Base Commander Florennes AFB: “The Florennes AFB is undergoing a major metamorphosis and the construction of the new F-35 site is, without doubt, the most spectacular. This infrastructure is important not only because of its size but also because of its complexity. In addition, other work will have to be carried out in order to be ready to receive the new aircraft in the best possible conditions. It is therefore the entire physiognomy of the base that will be transformed in the space of a few years.
All of this augurs well for the 2nd Tactical Wing and the Air Component as a whole. After years of dark investments, we are now on the right track to ensure a bright future for our young people. This is a new chapter for our unit and it looks fantastic. The Florennes base will be the first to receive F-35s on the national territory. From 2025, our Wing will be the reference within the Air Force in the field of modern combat operations. On a day-to-day basis, this is a major challenge for the entire base, with our F-16 aircraft having to cohabit with construction equipment, but also with the training of personnel on this new equipment. Finally, it is a major task to reorganise our organic structure to guarantee simultaneous operations of the F-16, the F-35 and the MQ-9B from 2025 until 2028 and the retirement of our F-16.
Our base will be a great showcase for the state-of-the-art trades that surround and support modern combat operations. This tool will have to be exploited without moderation in our recruitment efforts and should be able to generate a large number of vocations”.
An identical complex for the remaining 17 F-35 in Kleine-Brogel AFB will follow.
