Belgian Air Component
Belgian Air Component | |
---|---|
| |
A400M Atlas, Dassault Falcon 7X | |
Tanker | A330 MRTT (NATO MRTT unit) |
The Belgian Air Component (Dutch: Luchtcomponent, French: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces,[2][3] and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (Dutch: Belgische Luchtmacht; French: Force aérienne belge). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services.
The commander is
History
Foundation and early years
Luchtcomponent was founded in 1909 as a branch of the
In 1910, three Belgian lieutenants earned their pilot's brevets at the school, paying their own fees. Two of the artillery lieutenants were Baudouin Montens d'Oosterwyck, who earned Brevet No. 19 on 30 September, and Alfred Sarteel, granted No. 23 on 10 November. The third lieutenant, Georges Nelis, was the new force's first aviation candidate, gaining Brevet No. 28 on 21 December. An aircraft was personally purchased for him.[6]
In spring of 1911, the new air force established its military aviation school with five pilots, two mechanics, and a woodworker. It received its first aircraft via Baron Caters, who gave the aircraft to King Albert, who in turn presented it to the school.[6]
On 12 September 1912, pilot Lieutenant Nelis and observer Sous Lieutenant Stellingwerff were the first Europeans to fire a
World War I
By the time of Belgium's entry into the First World War on 4 August 1914, the military aviation branch, now called the Aviation Militaire Belge (Belgische militaire luchtvaart), consisted of four squadrons, each consisting of four 80-horsepower Farman aircraft, although Escadrilles III and IV were still forming. A truck was assigned to each squadron, along with a fifth truck serving as a mobile workshop. Each squadron had a commander, five pilots, and six observers, with all officers seconded from parent units. As a result, most of the new aviators were from the Engineers and Artillery components of the Belgian armed forces. As the war began, a fifth squadron was created, staffed with civilian pilots called to the colors and equipped with Bleriots.[8]
Sous Lieutenant Henri Crombez flew one of the first war patrols, in a
On 3 January 1915, two machine guns supplied by British were fitted to two Belgian aircraft, making a dual effort against the foe possible; these were Belgium's first dedicated fighter planes. In February, thirteen of the Belgian airmen flew 28 offensive patrols; their first dogfight was fought on the 26th, with ten Albatroses against three Belgian Farmans. On 26 March, Sous Lieutenant Boschmans sent a German two-seater into a steep dive when he seemed to hit the pilot; the German was not seen to either crash or land. This was the Belgian aviators' first victory claim.[11]
In April, Lieutenant Fernand Jacquet mounted a machine gun on his pusher aircraft and sought out the enemy. On the 17th, he and his observer (Lieutenant Henri Vindevoghel) scored Belgium's first confirmed aerial victory, sending an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft down in flames over Roeselare. Apparently at about the same time, Adjutant José Orta and Sous Lieutenant Louis de Burlet were the first to attack an enemy observation balloon when they dropped three small bombs on a gasbag over Houthulst, however they either did not hit, or failed to explode.[11]
On 18 January 1916, the decision was made to form a dedicated fighter squadron. On 22 February 1916, Escadrille I became the
In the summer of 1917, the AMB was allotted an active role in Allied aviation operations at the beginning of the
Aircraft procurement difficulties
In June 1916 the nascent air force had received newer aircraft from the French in both single and double-seat versions of the
The AMB did make one attempt to design and build its own aircraft. However the Ponnier M1 was not good enough for production, and the ten or so manufactured ended up with clipped wings as powered "Penguin" rollers for training rookie pilots.[16]
Operational summary
One of its
The fledgling air force was entrusted with flying both
Between the world wars
During the
World War II
At the start of World War II, the Army Air Force had three active Air Force Regiments. Aircraft which were used by those regiments were the
After the surrender of Belgium on 28 May 1940, a very small Belgian Air Force in exile was created in Great Britain as the Belgian section of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. This small force was active within the British Royal Air Force, and its squadrons were equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Typhoon. [citation needed]
The Cold War
On 15 October 1946, the Belgian military aviation was turned into an autonomous force, independent of the Belgian Army. From September 1953 to 1960, the Advanced Pilots' School (Ecole de Pilotage Avancé) operated Harvards from the Kamina military base in the Belgian Congo.[22] Seemingly about 60 Harvards were at the base.
Post-Cold War reforms
At the beginning of the 1990s, the end of the Cold War caused the Belgian government to restructure the Belgian Armed Forces in order to cope with the changed threats. The Belgian Air Force was hit hard and saw its strength more than halved with the disbanding of the 3rd Tactical Wing in Bierset (1994); the disbanding of the 1st Fighter Wing in
In 2002, the Belgian government decided to emulate
In 2004, as part of the unified structure, the Army Aviation units of the
1990s
In January 1991, 18 Mirage 5 aircraft of the 3rd Tactical Wing were deployed to Turkey's Diyarbakır air base. During this operation, Belgian aircraft carried out several flights along the Iraqi border. After this operation the obsolete Mirage 5s were phased out.
On 15 July 1996, a C-130 with serial CH-06 carrying 37 members of the Dutch Army Fanfare Band and four Belgian crew members crashed at
From October 1996, the Belgian Air Force cooperated with the Dutch Royal Air Force in the "Deployable Air Task Force" in patrolling former Yugoslavian airspace. F-16s of the 2nd and 10th Tactical Wings, operating from the Italian bases of
2000s
On 29 March 2004, four F-16s from Kleine Brogel were transferred under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission to the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania for three months, where they were employed in monitoring the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian skies.
In 2005, the Helicopter Wing (WHeli – HeliW) deployed four A-109 (including one Medevac) in Tuzla, Bosnia. In July, four F-16s deployed to Afghanistan to support the NATO International Security Assistance Force.[26] From June to October 2005, the 80th UAV Squadron deployed its B-Hunter in Tuzla.[27][28]
In 2006, Belgian Hunter
On 1 December 2006 the Belgian Air Component deployed again under Baltic Air Policing mission four F-16 MLU aircraft to Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, to defend the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.[30]
From August 2008, four F-16s were deployed to Kandahar in Afghanistan in support of the Dutch land forces.[31]
In March 2011, Belgium deployed six F-16 fighters to Araxos in Greece, in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn, to support the NATO operations over Libya.[32] The aircraft were already at the base as part of a joint exercise and were transferred to NATO command. Up to June 2011, the aircraft had flown over 1,000 hours over Libya and attacked various military installations and targets.
2010/2020s
On 12 September 2011 a Wikileaks document showed a diplomatic cable from the American ambassador and the Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem that Belgium is interested in buying off-the-shelf Lockheed F-35 Lightnings by 2020.[33][34][35]
In 2013 the Belgian Air Force supported French operations in Mali providing Medevac helicopter support with two A-109 helicopters and two C-130 Hercules in a tactical air transport role.
On 2 September 2013, four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter-jets of the Royal Belgian Air Force landed at the
Between October 2014 and July 2015 six Lockheed Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcons were deployed under Operation Desert Falcon to
On 11 October 2018, one Belgian F-16 was completely destroyed and a second damaged, in a fire at Florennes Air Base, reportedly caused by the accidental firing of a cannon.[39][40]
On 25 October 2018, Belgium officially selected the offer for 34 F-35As to replace the current fleet of around 54 F-16s. In the accompanying news conference, government officials stated that the decision to select the F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon came down to the price, and later stated that "The offer from the Americans was the best in all our seven valuation criteria". The total purchasing price for the aircraft and its support until 2030 totaled €4 billion, €600 million cheaper than the initially budgeted €4.6 billion. First deliveries are scheduled to take place in 2023.[41][42]
On 19 September 2019, a Belgian Air Force F-16 crashed in France.[43]
In 2022 the STAR program (Strategic Defense Review) was announced by the Belgian Ministry of Defense which plans for the upgrade of the existing 4 NFH90 helicopters used by the Belgian Navy with currently lacking ASW Sensors & Weapons, the replacement of the remaining 10 Augusta A109Bi helicopters by new 15 Light Utility Helicopter (Airbus EC-145) and the acquisition of 4 heavy transport helicopters (CH47F) to replace the 4 TTH90's whereby closer cooperation with the Netherlands Air Force is considered.[44]
Joint air policing
On 4 March 2015, the Belgian and Dutch ministers of defence, along with the ambassador of Luxembourg to the Netherlands, signed an agreement on joint air policing. Starting mid-2017, the Belgian Air Component and the
Organization
The organization of the aircomponent as of 2018.The airforce has about 6,500 total active personnel divided in 10 operational units and an headquarters. In the near future, an air-artillery unit with long range surface to air missiles is to be established.
- HQ COMPOSAIR (headquarters of the airforce) in Evere
- 1st wing (Helicopters and training aircraft) in Bevekom and Koksijde
- Meteo Wing (weather forecasting for the airforce)
- Air traffic control centre in Steenokkerzeel
- Control and Reporting Centre in Bevekom
- Aviation Safety Directorate (in charge of aviation safety)
- Airforce Competence Centre (in charge of training flying and non-flying personnel) in Bevekom
- 10th tactical wing
- 31st fighter squadron with F-16
- 349th fighter squadron with F-16
- operations conversion unit
- operations squadron
- maintenance group
- defence and support group
- 2nd tactical wing
- 1st fighter squadron with F-16
- 350th fighter squadron with F-16
- operations conversion unit
- operations squadron
- maintenance group
- defence and support group
- 80th UAV squadron, to be equipped with 4 MQ-9 drones
- 15th wing airtransport in Melsbroek with 8 A400M transport aircraft (7 Belgium & 1 Luxembourg) and 2 Dassault Falcon 20E jets
Aircraft
Current aircraft
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat Aircraft | ||||||
F-35 Lightning II | United States | stealth multirole | F-35A | 34 on order[46][47] | ||
F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States | multirole | F-16A/B | 44[46][48] | ||
Transport | ||||||
Airbus A400M | Europe | tactical airlifter | 7 | |||
Dassault Falcon 7X | France | transport | 2[49] | dry-lease with Abelag Aviation | ||
Helicopters
| ||||||
NHIndustries NH90 | Europe | utility / transport | NFH/TTH | 4/4[46] | ||
AgustaWestland AW109 | Italy | scout / MEDEVAC | A109BAi | 10[46][50] | ||
Trainer Aircraft
| ||||||
F-16 Fighting Falcon | United States | conversion trainer
|
F-16B | 8[46] | ||
SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 | Italy | trainer | 28[46] | |||
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle | ||||||
MQ-9 Sky Guardian | United States | UCAV
|
4 on order[51] |
NOTE: Belgium is participating in the NATO MRTT unit with the use of an Airbus A330 MRTT[52]
Retired aircraft
Below is a list of some notable retired aircraft
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | In service | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft | ||||||
Fairey Battle | United Kingdom | bomber | 14[53] | |||
Fairey Fox | United Kingdom | light bomber | II, III, VI, VIII | 115[53] | ||
Fiat CR.42
|
Italy | fighter | 23[53] | |||
Gloster Gladiator | United Kingdom | fighter | 15[53] | |||
Supermarine Spitfire | United Kingdom | fighter | FR Mk XIV | 53[54] | ||
Gloster Meteor | United Kingdom | fighter | F.4/F.8/NF.11[55] | 304 | the NF.11 served as a night fighter | |
Hawker Hurricane | United Kingdom | fighter | Mk I | 11[53] | license built by SABCA[56] | |
Avro CF-100 Canuck
|
Canada | Interceptor | CF-100 Mk 5
|
53[57] | In service 1957 – 1964 | |
Republic F-84 Thunderjet | United States | fighter-bomber | F-84E/H | 213[56] | In service 1951 – 1956 | |
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak | United States | fighter-bomber | F-84F | 197[56] | In service 1955 – 1972 | |
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter | United States | Interceptor | F-104G | 100[58] | In service 1963 – 1983 | |
Dassault Mirage 5 | France | Bomber | BA
|
63[58] | In service 1970 – 1994 | |
Reconnaissance | ||||||
Dassault Mirage 5 | France | reconnaissance | BR
|
27[58] | In service 1971 - 1994 | |
Republic RF-84F Thunderflash | United States | reconnaissance | RF-84F | 34[56] | In service 1955 – 1972 | |
Renard R.31 | Belgium | observation | 19[53] | |||
Auster AOP.6 | United Kingdom | observation | 22[58] | In service 1947 - 1955 | ||
Transport | ||||||
Douglas C-54 | United States | transport | 2[56] | In service 1950 - 1971 | ||
C-130 Hercules | United States | tactical airlift | C-130H | 12[59] | In service 1971 - 2021 | |
Boeing 727-100
|
United States | Transport | B727-029 | 2 | ex-Sabena, In service... | |
Airbus A310-200
|
Europe | Transport | A310-200 | 2 | In service... | |
Airbus A330-300
|
Europe | Transport | A330-300 | 1 | In service 2009 - 2014 (Leased from HiFly) | |
Airbus A321 | Europe | Transport | A321-200 | 1[60] | In service 2014 - 2020 (Leased from HiFly) | |
Dassault Falcon 20 | French | VIP transport | Falcon 20E | 2 [61] | In service 1973 - 2016 | |
Embraer ERJ145 | Brazil | VIP transport | 2[60] | In service 2001 - 2020 | ||
Helicopters
| ||||||
Sikorsky S-58
|
United States | SAR | S-58C
|
11[58] | In service 1961 – 1986 | |
Westland Sea King | United Kingdom | SAR
|
Sea King Mk. 48 | 5[62] | In service 1976 - 2019 | |
Aérospatiale Alouette III | France | liaison | 3[25] | In service 1971 – 2021 - flown for the Belgian Navy | ||
Trainer Aircraft
| ||||||
Gloster Meteor | United Kingdom | jet trainer | T.7[55] | 43 | ||
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
|
United States | jet trainer | T-33A | 12[58] | ||
Fouga CM.170 Magister | France | Jet trainer | 45[63] | |||
North American T-6 Texan | United States | trainer | 148[64] | In service 1947 - 1962 | ||
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter | United States | conversion trainer | TF-104G | 12[58] | In service 1965 - 1987 | |
Alpha Jet | France / Germany | trainer / light attack | Alpha Jet B | 33[65] | In service 1978 - 2020 | |
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle | ||||||
IAI B-Hunter | United States / Israel | reconnaissance | 11[66] | In service 2004 - 2020 |
Personnel
Officer ranks
NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student officer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belgian Air Component[67] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Generaal
|
Luitenant-generaal | Generaal-majoor | Brigadegeneraal | Kolonel | Luitenant-kolonel | Majoor | Kapitein-commandant | Kapitein | Luitenant | Onderluitenant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Général | Lieutenant général | Général-major | Général de Brigade | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Capitaine-commandant | Capitaine | Lieutenant | Sous-lieutenant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General | Generalleutnant | Generalmajor | Brigadegeneral | Oberst | Oberstleutnant | Major | Stabshauptmann | Hauptmann | Leutnant | Unterleutnant |
Other ranks
NATO code | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belgian Air Component[67] |
No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjudant-Majoor | Adjudant-chef | Adjudant | 1ste sergeant-majoor | 1ste sergeant-chef | 1ste sergeant | Sergeant | 1ste korporaal-chef | Korporaal-chef | Korporaal | 1ste soldaat | Soldaat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjudant-Major | Adjudant-chef | Adjudant | 1er sergeant-major | 1er sergeant-chef | 1er sergeant | Sergeant | 1er caporal-chef | Caporal-chef | Caporal | 1er soldat | Soldat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Majoradjutant | Chefadjudant | Adjudant | 1er Sergeant Major | 1er Sergeant Chef | 1er Sergeant | Sergeant | 1er Korporal Chef | Korporal Chef | Korporal | 1er soldat | Soldat |
Future
In the strategic defence vision report of the Belgian government it was stated that the Belgian air component will invest in 34 new fighter aircraft being introduced into service 2025–2030 and contribute for one aerial refuelling aircraft (A330 MRTT) as part of the Multi National Tanker Transport squadron based at Eindhoven Airport, to be able to deploy the new fighter aircraft in a more independent fashion.[68]
The Sea King helicopters were retired in March 2019 after 43 years of service. The Alpha Jet was also retired in December 2019 and sold to Top Aces in July 2020.[65] Future pilot training is to be conducted in the US at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) program based at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.[69] In addition, the three Alouette III helicopters flown for the Belgian Navy were phased out in 2021 after 50 years of operational service.[25]
On 25 October 2018, Belgium officially selected the offer for 34 F-35As to replace the current fleet of around 53 F-16s. In the accompanied news conference, government officials stated that the decision to select the F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon came down to the price, and later stated that "The offer from the Americans was the best in all our seven valuation criteria". The total purchasing price for the aircraft and its support until 2030 totaled €4 billion, €600 million cheaper than the initially budgeted €4.6 billion. First deliveries are scheduled to take place in 2023.[41][42]
In 2018 the Belgian Government approved the negotiations to acquire two General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian MALE drones which are planned to be operational from 2023, replacing the IAI Hunter drones phased out since early 2021.[70]
In 2018 two Hercules aircraft were retired. In 2019 and 2020 additional aircraft were retired prior to the transition to the Airbus A400M starting in 2020. The remaining three Hercules were phased out in 2021, the last aircraft was withdrawn from Operational Service on December 17 2021[59] after 50 years for service to the Belgian Air Force.[71]
Belgium contributes one Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft as part of the NATO MRTT Squadron based at Eindhoven Air Base, replacing the leased Airbus 321 which was phased out in 2020 and returned to the lessor.[60]
In June 2020, it was deemed that the NH90 was too expensive and too few in numbers to be operated effectively, plans are now to withdraw the 4 TTH-versions by 2024 and focus solely on the NFH's SAR and naval operations and acquire sensor & armament upgrades for the NFH-90. A possible replacement could be the Airbus H145M, up to 15 could be ordered to replace both the NH90-TTH and the remaining Agusta A109BAi's.[72]
In January 2022, the Minister of Defence announced that the helicopter fleet will be completely renewed. There are plans to buy 15 new light utility helicopters (LUH) and 8 to 10 new heavy lift helicopters. The 4 NH90-TTH will be withdrawn and phased out.[73]
In August 2022 the Belgian Parliament approved the new law on military programming, the STAR-plus plan; the Air Component will have a new helicopter fleet. The remaining ten Agusta A109Bai will be retired and the four green NH90 TTH helicopters will be withdrawn from service. (There were 8 in total, only 4 of the NFH version will remain in service) In the plan, the new fleet will look like this:
- 15 light helicopters (budget: €250 million)
- 10 heavy transport helicopters (budget: €612 million)
- 4 SAR helicopters (budget: €181 million)
- 4 existing NH-90 NFH helicopters for all naval tasks
This would replace the current fleet of 18 helicopters (10 Agusta A109 and 8 NH90) with a fleet of 32 helicopters.[74]
List of obsolete weapons and equipment
- MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile
- Nike Hercules surface-to-surface missile
See also
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- ^ "Moet de "nieuwe" NH-90 helikopter van de luchtmacht alweer plaats maken voor een nieuw toestel?". Belgian Defence News (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Leger krijgt extra budget voor heli's, personeel en digitale bescherming". De Standaard (in Flemish). 21 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Helispot.be | Helikopters BE". www.helispot.be. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
Bibliography
- De Vink, Hervé (August 1976). "Adieu au "Dakota" de la Force aérienne belge" [Farewell to the Dakotas of the Belgian Air Force]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (81): 17–19. ISSN 0757-4169.
- Duwelz, Yves (February 2002). "Les Blériot XI de l'aviation militaire belge" [The Bleriot XIs of the Belgian Air Component]. Avions: Toute l'Aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (107): 56–60. ISSN 1243-8650.
- Pacco, John (2003). Belgisch Leger/Armee Belge: Het Militair Vliegwezen/l'Aeronautique Militaire 1930–1940. Belgium: Aartselaar. ISBN 90-801136-6-2.
- Pieters, Walter M. (1998). Above Flanders' Fields: A Complete Record of the Belgian Fighter Pilots and Their Units During the Great War, 1914–1918. Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-83-1.
- Silvester, John. "Call to Arms: The Percival Sea Prince and Pembroke". Air Enthusiast, No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 56–61. ISSN 0143-5450
- Wauthy, Jean-Luc & de Neve, Florian (June 1995). "Les aéronefs de la Force Aérienne Belge, deuxième partie 1919–1935" [Aircraft of the Belgian Air Force]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (305): 28–33. ISSN 0757-4169.
External links
- Official website Belgian Air Force | DEFENSIE Uw toekomst. Onze missie.
- Official website Belgian Ministry of Defense - News | Belgiandefencenews.be