Recent Operations
In January 1991, 18 Mirage 5 aircraft of the 3rd Tactical Wing were deployed to Turkey's Diyarbakır air base. During this operation, Belgian planes carried out several flights along the Iraqi border. After this operation the obsolete Mirage 5s were phased out.
On 15 July 1996, a C-130 with serial CH-06 carrying 37 members of the Dutch Army Fanfare Band and four crew crashed at Eindhoven after a bird strike while executing a go-around, resulting in the loss of power to three engines. 34 Dutch soldiers were killed, and only 7 survived.
From October 1996, the Belgian Air Force cooperated with the Dutch Royal Air Force in the Deployable Air Task Force in patrolling former Yugoslavian airspace. F-16s of the 2nd and 10th Tactical Wings, operating from the Italian bases of Villafranca and Amendola, were assigned to missions insuring the control of a No-Fly Zone over Yugoslavia, and providing the air support necessary for UN and NATO troops. Between March 24 and June 10, 1999, 12 Belgian F-16s carried out 679 combat sorties – the first time since the second World War that Belgian aircraft took part in active war operations in enemy territory – against Serbia during the Kosovo crisis. The last Belgian F-16 detachment left Italy in August 2001.
On 29 March 2004, four F-16s from Kleine Brogel were transferred under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission to the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania for three months, where they were employed in monitoring the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian skies.
In 2005, the Helicopter Wing (WHeli – HeliW) deployed 4 A-109 (including 1 Medevac) in Bosnia (Tuzla). In July, four F-16's deployed to Afghanistan to support the NATO International Security Assistance Force. At the same, the 80 UAV Sqn deployed its B-Hunter in Bosnia (Tuzla) for a four months period: 52 persons, 6 B-Hunter and 4 GCS.
On 9 September 2005, an F-16 crashed near Vlieland, Netherlands, killing its pilot.
In 2006, Belgian Hunter unmanned air vehicles deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of the EU EUFOR peacekeeping mission. At the same time, the Helicopter Wing (WHeli – HeliW) deployed 3 A-109 (including 1 Medevac) in Bosnia (Mostar), Operation codeword "Blue Bee".
On 5 May 2006, a Belgian C-130 "Hercules" undergoing updating at the Sabena Technics was destroyed when the hangar that it was in burned to the ground. The Belgian Air Component announced its intention to acquire a secondhand C-130 to replace the one lost in the fire. A month later, the Air Component acquired a C-130E from the American operator Evergreen (serial N130EV, to become CH13).
On 1 December 2006 the Belgian Air Component deployed again under Baltic Air Policing mission four F-16 MLU aircraft to Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, to defend the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
From August 2008, four F-16s will be deployed to Kandahar in Afghanistan in support of the Dutch land forces.
On 27 June 2008 an Agusta A109 helicopter crashed in Halleux. The pilot, co-pilot, a doctor and a nurse were injured.
On 27 July 2009 an F-16 fighter jet flying a practice mission over Germany accidentally dropped a non-explosive practice bomb into woods near the small town of Lastrup. There were no casualties.
in March 2011, Belgium deployed 6 F-16 Fighters to Araxos in Greece, in support of operation: Odyssey Dawn, to support the NATO operations over Libya. the aircraft were already at the base as part of a joint exercise and were transferred to NATO command. as of June 2011, the aircraft have flown over 1000 hours over Libya and attacked various military installations and targets, without causing any collateral damage to the civilian population.
On 12 September 2011 a wikileaks document showed a diplomatic cable from the American ambassador and the Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem that Belgium is interested in buying off-the-shelf Lockheed F-35 Lightnings by 2020.
On 16 August 2012 an F-16 crashed near Kleine Brogel air base. The pilot ejected successfully. The cause is thought to be a bird strike.
Read more about this topic: Belgian Air Component
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