“This marks a key milestone in the modernization of the Air and Space componentand Defense, and in its commitment to the F-35 program. This historic moment reflects the strategic importance of the aircraft for Belgium and its allies in the face of current threats.said the Ministry of Defense in a press release.
The conversion begins
The first Belgian flight of this Belgian F-35, the aircraft registered FL002, according to images posted on social networks, also marks the start of the conversion of pilots, the first of whom come from squadrons currently equipped with F-fighter-bombers. 16. This conversion takes place within the Belgian F-35 conversion unit, the Belgian F-35 Conversion Unit, integrated into the 312 FS.
Lieutenant Colonel Libert has a long career as an F-16 pilot from the Florennes base. Arriving as a pilot in the 350th squadron in 2002, he rose through the ranks of the squadron and participated in numerous exercises and operations, to also become an instructor in tactics and weapons. Before being sent in the summer of 2023 to Luke AFB as head of the Belgian delegation, SO6 accumulated more than 3,800 flight hours on the F-16 and is considered one of the most gifted F-16 pilots in his generation, according to the Air Force.
In Florennes from summer 2025
The first eight Belgian F-35s delivered will initially remain based at Luke for the training of pilots and mechanics. It is not until the summer of 2025 that the four aircraft are expected at the Florennes base, where a complex dedicated to the F-35 is under construction, within the installations of the 2nd tactical wing. The first aircraft should arrive two years later at the other Belgian combat aircraft base, at Kleine-Brogel (Limburg) which houses the 10th tactical wing.
Deliveries of the 34 planes must be spread out until 2030, at a rate of four or five per year.
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