Combat aircraft

by increasing the number of deployed

aircraft to 16. Belgium engaged in this

e ort with four F-16AMs, which operated

from Malbork, Poland from January 1 to

August 3, 2015. During the  rst quarter

of 2016, four Belgian F-16AMs based at

Ämari in Estonia and four Spanish Air

Force Typhoons located at Šiauliai in

Lithuania constituted NATO’s Enhanced

BAP mission, which was scaled back

to eight aircraft in September 2015. It

was during the operations in the Baltic

states that Belgian  ghters encountered

Russian combat aircraft for the very  rst

time, more than 20 years after the end

of the Cold War. In September 2017, the

Belgian Air Component returned to the

Baltic for the  fth time to safeguard its

airspace until the end of the year with

four F-16AMs and 50 personnel at Ämari.

Along with peace enforcement in the

Balkans, the Middle East and Northern

Africa and collective air defense in

the Baltic states, Belgian F-16s ensure

the defense of their national territory.

Since 349 Squadron became the  rst

F-16  ghter unit in Europe to qualify

for NATO service on January 16, 1981, a

pair of quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft

have been on ‘24/7’ duty at Florennes

or Kleine Brogel. The Belgian Air

Component also puts a number of F-16s

at the disposal of the NATO Response

Force (NRF).

A new approach

Belgium has never been shy in pulling

its weight and supporting a growing

number of national and international

obligations and missions despite a

constantly decreasing defense budget

and number of aircraft. On the current

Air Component order of battle are just

45 F-16AMs and nine F-16BMs, with

an operational reserve of four and one

respectively. Other aircraft have been

scrapped, stored or sold on to Jordan. The

remaining jets are operated by the 1st

and 350th Squadrons of the 2nd Tactical

Wing at Florennes and by the 31st and

349th Squadrons of the 10th Tactical

Wing at Kleine Brogel, which is also home

F-16AM FA-126

returning from

a mission over

Iraq or Syria.

Not all missions

go kinetic, as

illustrated by the

500lb laser-

guided GBU-12 still

hanging under

the aircraft’s port

wing.

Belgian Defence/

Christian Decloedt

FORCE REPORT // BELGIAN AIR COMPONENT F-16S

62 February 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

58-65 Belgium Vipers C.indd 62 14/12/2017 12:07