2023-12-10 20:01:53
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
“This is a key moment“, underlined Alexander 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.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.
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.
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