Following the 3.6 billion dollar contract for the purchase of 34 F-35s, Belgium signed an agreement with the manufacturer of the F-35 to enable its manufacturers to compete in the production chain markets. . At the same time, Brussels would like to join the Scaf program.
The Belgian government signed an agreement on Tuesday with the American group Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-35, providing that Belgian equipment manufacturers will be able to benefit from the fallout from the mega-contract to purchase 34 copies of this fighter plane, announced the minister. of Economy Pierre-Yves Dermagne.
“The goal is to enable Belgian industry to multiply opportunities with the manufacturer thanks, among other things, to contacts with the appropriate departments and access made more efficient,” the minister’s office told La Libre Belgique.
This “framework contract” will allow Belgian industrialists, not to obtain markets, but to compete therein to enter the production chain of the F-35 Lightning II, beyond what had been determined during the acquisition of the devices, in 2018, explained the minister in a press release.
Better sharing of information and contacts from Lockheed Martin will allow them to better prepare their file by responding to calls for tenders, added a member of Mr. Dermagne’s cabinet joined by AFP.
To replace its aging fleet of F-16 fighters (from the same manufacturer Lockheed Martin) by 2030, Belgium opted in October 2018 for the acquisition of 34 copies of the F-35 at the expense of the French Rafale from Dassault Aviation or Typhoon from the Eurofighter consortium (Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo) .
This contract was estimated at $3.6 billion. At the time, Dassault Aviation had reacted in a press release published by speaking of a “bad signal for the construction of European defense”.
Assembly, production or maintenance
The first two new generation F-35s should be received by the end of the year in the United States, where the pilots of the Belgian Air Force will be trained, according to the cabinet of the Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder. Then, four to five F-35s will be delivered each year until 2030.
In the “assembly, production of certain parts or maintenance” of the devices, companies established in Belgium such as Sabca, Sonaca, Coexpair or Sabena Technics could benefit from the economic fallout from the program, according to the firm Dermagne.
For its part, the Lockheed Martin group was “delighted” to deepen its collaboration “with Belgian industry and academia”. “Lockheed Martin has a long-standing partnership with Belgium through its work on the F-16 program. The F-35 builds on this strong heritage,” said Mike Shoemaker, a group official quoted in the same press release. .
And the Scaf?
In parallel with the purchase of the 34 American fighters, Belgium is questioning its participation in the European Scaf program which currently brings together France, Germany and Spain.
“There is a very strong political will to try to join the SCAF program”, said Admiral Hofman, the Belgian head of Defense last January. The Free Belgium.
This idea is supported by the CEO of SABCA, Thibauld Jongen who declared in the Belgian economic title, The Echo that “Belgian industry must be on board some military aeronautical programs, to avoid repeating the mistake made twenty years ago with the F-35”, said Thibauld Jongen, in December 2020.
The Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu supports the idea of extending the program to other countries if they present “an industrial and military interest”. During a hearing in the Senate, Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, is firmly opposed to a new sharing of tasks and the fruits of labor with other countries, in particular Belgium.
“I hear it said that we could give work to Belgian companies right away. No. If it is imposed on me, I will fight. But I do not see why I would give work to Belgians today”, a declared the CEO of Dassault Aviation in front of the senators.
