2023-12-11 07:53:00
The first F-35 fighter jet made an official launch this Sunday in Texas. Our special correspondents attended its release from the factory. Our Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was present, as well as astronaut Raphaël Liégeois and other pilots.
The first F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft intended to re-equip the Belgian Air Force made its official factory exit on Sunday during a ceremony – a “rollout” in jargon – organized in Fort Worth, Texas (southern United States). -United) by its manufacturer, the American defense group Lockheed Martin.
This aircraft, a so-called fifth-generation stealth fighter-bomber with a uniform gray livery, was unveiled during a spectacular show in the presence of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who greeted, alongside the United States ambassador in Belgium, Michael Adler, cooperation between the two countries.
“This is a key moment, because the message we are giving is very clear we will do everything to defend our population, to defend our interests, to defend our prosperity and defend our friends and also our pilots. But the equipment we had was really at the end of its life“, underlined Mr. De Croo in front of an audience of soldiers, industrialists – some of whom must sign economic agreements with Lockheed Martin and American officials. Six economic agreements concerning Belgian companies were signed on the sidelines of the ceremony.
“It’s the best hardware available from a security standpoint, from a performance standpoint.”added the Belgian Prime Minister.
An order for 34 planes
The “rollout” of the first Belgian F-35A (the conventional takeoff and landing version of Lockheed’s family of multirole fighters) comes more than five years following the order for 34 planes by the previous government, in October 2018. They must replace by 2030 the fleet of around fifty aging F-16s still in service within the Air Force, a contract worth nearly four billion euros, according to the Ministry of Defense.
“There is no photo, it’s the best plane in the world”Major Pierre-Yves Libert immediately insisted. “What makes it different is its stealth characteristics which allow it to approach much closer to a threat while controlling risk.he notes.
“The second characteristic is the performance and precision of all the sensors making it possible to detect and identify objects on the ground and report them to the pilots if it is important. The third important characteristic is the connectivity of the aircraft. All data exchanges with completely standard protocols which allow it to be completely interoperable with all the other devices in a coalition and which make it possible to multiply the strength and effectiveness of all the devices which are in the air”he continues.
The exit from the factory of this device registered FL001 and bearing the manufacturer number AY-01 – seven others intended for Belgium are in varying degrees of completion in the immense Fort Worth factory – is however not yet synonymous with immediate entry into service.
It was produced in a new configuration with significantly increased capacities, called TR-3 (for “Technology Refresh”) and Block 4. But the certification of this new standard was delayed.
Promising agreements for Belgian industry
This factory exit was an opportunity for the Belgian aeronautical industry to sign partnership agreements on Sunday with two American companies, the aircraft manufacturer Locheed Martin and the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, it was noted on site.
The resulting contracts have a value of around 1.5 billion euros, according to data provided by the companies involved, Sabca, Safran Aero Boosters and BMT Aerospace.
And “there will be more” economic benefits for Belgian industry following the purchase in 2018 of 34 of these fighter-bombers, assured Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. “Belgian industry has a lot to offer,” he told Lockheed Martin executives.
NASA f-35
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