Article - Belgian Air Force Days – September 2018

Belgian Air Force Days – 2018
Kleine-Brogel - Ready for the future

September the 7th to the 9th saw the hosting of the Belgian Air Force days air show at Kleine-Brogel Air Force base in the North West of Belgium.

Travelling from the UK to air shows on the continent isn't a new concept, but it is something lots of aviation enthusiasts don't think of doing. With so many great facilities locally to Kleine-Brogel it made sense to travel by road, stay locally and enjoy the hospitality in the area for the full weekend of events.

Friday the 7th was the “Spotters day” for arrivals and display authorisations and practices. The weather in the early morning wasn't promising, but then it is something you just can't control. By 09:30 the rain had gone, the sun was breaking through and in their own unique style the Ukrainian Air Force showed up, a low pass by the IL-76 and two SU-27 signalled their intent to wow the crowds that had gathered.

Throughout the day the displays and arrivals were almost non stop, from fast jet demos, display team practices and one of the most eagerly anticipated arrivals – the Lockheed Martin F-35A of 13 Gruppo Italian Air Force, the first time an F-35 touched down on Belgian soil.

The Belgian Air Force is on the cusp of several major changes and new requirements. The imminent retirement of the Westland Seaking MK48, delivered in 1976 and flying Search and Rescue missions still to this day. 40 Squadron with their beautifully painted aircraft, RS-05, flew Search and Rescue demos on all three days and gave familiarisation flights to a lucky few over the weekend. The Sunday saw the last public display by the Seaking by the Belgian Air Force. Its replacement, the NH Industries NH90 NFH also performed a very polished role demo on all three days. The crew of RS-05 will see their Seaking retire in March of 2019, and, whilst they are sad to see the Seaking retire, the squadron has already moved forward with their new mount.

Another type being replaced within the Belgian Air Force is the Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport aircraft. 20 Squadron are currently celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 15 Wing Air Transport and 45 years of the C-130 serving with 20 Squadron. Their Specially painted aircraft arrived for the static display on the Saturday morning. One of the stars of the show was the C-130s replacement, the Airbus A400M Atlas, the example brought to the show by Airbus Industries is the final production model for the RAF. The Belgian order for seven aircraft is due for the first delivery in 2020.

Alike nearly all European air arms, Belgium is looking for a new front line fighter. The venerable Lockheed Martin F-16 entered service with the Air Force in 1979, some of the aircraft have since undergone Mid Life Upgrades (MLU) to keep them current and up to date, but nearly 40 years on the Air Force are looking to the future, in the running are the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and the Lockheed Martin F-35A. All of these aircraft were present over the weekend. The Royal Air Force brought three Eurofighter Typhoons, our anniversary special for the flying display, a spare and a static example. In the corporate village at the end of the static line a replica Typhoon complete with Belgian roundels could be seen and was a big hit with the crowds being shown round it. The French Air Force Dassault Rafale in its special paint scheme wowed the crowds on all three days, and whilst their static display aircraft was towed airside before every display, the presence of Dassault was felt in the crowd all of the time, mainly due to the thousands of orange Rafale hats that were handed out! One of the highlights of the entire weekend was the inclusion of the Lockheed Martin F-35A from 13 Gruppo, Italian Air Force based at Amendola. The aircraft arrived on the Friday during the spotters day, hangared over night and towed over for the static display every day. Lockheed Martin also had a replica on site in the corporate village that attracted a lot of public attention. The public are now more than ever wanting to see what governments are looking at spending their money on.

The Airshow drew on all these factors and brought it all together with the tagline “Ready for the Future” a brilliant mix of history and future was brought seamlessly together.

Another key theme to the Belgian Air Force Days is “Engagement” - the weekend is designed to bring the Belgian military closer to the public, closer to the people who its interests it defends. It is very much a family affair. Lots of educational and informative displays, from life support, meteorology, maintenance and security, all with interactive sections to bring the future of the Belgian airforce closer to the children key to it. Throughout the Saturday and Sunday of the show, children under 21 were invited to sign up for flights in an Air Force ERJ-145 of 21 Squadron. A fine treat to give the future a taste of flight.

This years show had a big international feel to it, attracting a rare and varied participation of aircraft. Fast jet demonstrations from the Ukraine, UK, France, Spain, Czech Republic, Greece, Switzerland, Denmark and of course the home team with the “Dark Falcon”. Add to that the display teams; The Red Devils, with their heritage formation, Team Breitling, the RAF Falcons parachute team and the French Air Force Patrouille de France. And then a more than enviable static display consisting of star guests from Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and the USA with their CV-22 Osprey from RAF Mildenhall. Lots of historic participation too, all in all everything an airshow needs. A lot of talk was made of the lack of flares used in displays, a showing of an aircrafts counter measure suite that adds another dimension to a display, something rarely seen unless you travel to mainland Europe. The problem was the weather, next to no wind meant great flying conditions, but, the casings and debris from the flares would have littered the runways rendering them unusable for aircraft. For me this did not detract from the airshow, sadly the weather is something we cannot control, and flight safety is paramount. The international feel was also reflected in the airshow commentary. Chris Christiaens and Indira Thackorie provided information in Flemish and English over the weekend, the rapport they had together really shone through to give humour and facts in equal measure. One of the best commentary teams I have heard at an airshow. Over the weekend 72000 people were kept informed and entertained non stop from the start of flying to the finish.

The airshow highlight for many was the Spitfire heritage display, featuring Supermarine Spitfire XVI, SL721 AU-J and the “Dark Falcon” F-16AM. After several passes in formation the Spitfire left the scene to let Senior Captain Stefan Darte “Vador” take to the skies and wow the crowd. The specially painted F-16AM is uniquely designed so that at each airshow it displays, it has a nod to the country it is in, on one of its horizontal stabilizers it has the flag of the country it is displaying in, this year more than others the display jet has been promoted through social media and other news outlets to promote the Belgian Air Force and create a media storm. With its high energy display, superb paint scheme and media coverage the hype surrounding the Dark Falcon has whipped up a massive following like no other. The reaction from the crowd said it all, rapturous applause, adoring fans wearing tshirts, caps all lining up to catch a glimpse of Stefan after displays, the Dark Falcon merchandise tent was by a long way the most visited stall at the show.

As the curtain closed on the Belgian Air Force Days 2018, 72000 people went home after seeing a spectacle we will never be able to see again, and left us looking forward to the future. The imminent retirement of a number of airframes and the sightings of the future of Belgian Air Power made the 2018 show a watershed moment, a turning point. Those 72000 people went away excited and enthused by what they had seen and ready for the future.

I would like to thank all of the personnel within the Belgian Air Force media team for their help and hard work, time and effort they put in to making the airshow what it is. And a special personal thanks to “Jack” and the crew of RS-05 from number 40 Squadron for providing me with the biggest smile of the weekend.

Author and photography by Stuart Skelton