A Belgian Air Force A400M Registration CT-07 comes in to land at the UKs RAF Waddington,
this is one of two Belgian Air Component A4OOM Atlas Aircraft arriving to attend Exercise
COBRA WARRIOR 2023 The transport aircraft is loaded with equipment to support a detachment
of six Belgian Air Force F-16s which will be arriving imminently
The Belgian A4OOM Atlas numbering a fleet of seven aircraft is part of 15 Air Transport
Wing’s 20 Squadron, which also operates the C-130H Hercules.
Exercise COBRA WARRIOR 2023 is the Royal Air Force-hosted multinational live-fly exercise.
Joining the Belgian Air Force will be participants from the United States, as well as for the
first time – from Finland, India and Saudi Arabia, they started to arrive on February 27th 2023.
The exercise will involve multiple live-fly activities, involving 70 aircraft,
the exercise will run from March 2nd to the 24th.
Exercise Cobra Warrior takes place twice a year and is the largest air exercise run by
the Royal Air Force.
It is designed to train participants in high intensity, large force, tactical air war-fighting
operations and is being directed by staff at RAF Waddington.
Here comes the first of the six F-16AM Fighting Falcons, two of which are specially painted,
the first one of which is the "X Tiger" but more on this later.
Ground crew at RAF Waddington are patiently watching one of the A4OOM transport aircraft
as it slowly taxis off the runway and weaves towards the ramp area ready to unload its Cargo.
Manufactured by Airbus, this relatively new aircraft first became operational with the
French Air Force in 2013. It is set to replace the many ageing Hercules C-130 and her variants
across many European Military air forces, in fact in March 2023 the United Kingdoms
Royal Air Force has moved a lot quicker and announced it will retire all 14 Hercules C-130J
by the end of 2023. This is more than 10 years earlier than originally planned, the RAF will
now use a combination of A4OOM Atlas, C 17 Globemaster and Voyager transport aircraft
and tankers.
The A400M Atlas although more costly, has a larger payload of 37,000kg as opposed to
the 21500kg of a C-130J Super Hercules. The A400M is faster with a longer travel range
of 8,890 kilometres, this is for instance twice the range of the C-130J, A400M is capable
of seating 24 more passengers, totalling 116 seats
Here in the background, coming into view, the last aircraft is a F-16AM specially painted
in 2021. It pays homage to the 31st Tiger Squadron active since the 1st October 1951
and the formation of 60 years of the NATO Tiger association established in 1960, originally
formed to informally promote solidarity between NATO air forces that contained a tiger within its squadrons crest.
These days the NATO Tigers meet up once a year with a specific structure to conduct
joint training missions. In 2022 nine Tiger squadrons met in the beginning of May in Greece
it involved 13 countries including Belgium. Up to 80 missions were flown daily in two waves.
About 600 training missions were executed, of which 10 percent were flown by external
units that mostly simulated Red Air Forces (enemy air forces).
This is the 2nd F-16AM Fighting Falcon appearing today, painted in a very special livery, its
assigned to Belgian Air Force’s 349th Squadron,
this paint scheme is to commemorate the unit’s 80th anniversary
The 349 Squadron began as the British Royal Air Force’s 349 (Belgian) Squadron, founded
in 1942 as a Belgian British Royal Air Force (RAF) unit. During this period the Belgian
government was in exile in London, Great Britain. Belgium had fallen to Nazi Germany and was
under occupation from 1940
The squadron participated in all significant actions during World War Two, including the
first flights over the Normandy beaches on D-Day and the subsequent liberation of Western Europe.
Together with its French-speaking sister unit (350 Squadron), 349 Squadron helped lay the
groundwork for the modern Belgian Air Force in 1946.
Today Belgian Army’s Air Component is preparing for its next chapter, flying the F-35A Lightning
II all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft .
This year will mark the arrival of a Lockheed Martin F-35A produced for Belgium at Luke
Air Force Base, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. This will be the very first of 34 F-35A for
the Belgian Air Force and will be used for the initial training of Belgian pilots
and mechanics.
The first F-16AM Fighting Falcon selected to be taken out of service is Registration
number FA-95, it will be withdrawn in summer 2023, this aircraft began operating in 1985,
and has reached its 8,000 flight hours. The F-16AM Fleet will be completely phased out
by 2028 retiring first any aircraft that reach the 8,000 flight hours. This will leave approximately
50 F-16AM in 2023 to spearhead Belgium Air Defence.
From the end of 2023 to the end of 2028, an F-35A conversion programme will be implemented
at Luke Air Force Base in the United States.
It is anticipated the first F-35A deliveries to Florennes Air Base in Belgium will commence in 2025
The Belgian Army’s Air Component F-16AM's face an uncertain future. The Belgium government
has already stated they will not donate any of the aircraft to Ukraine as they are needed
for its own defence and are unlikely to be sold. It is therefore likely they will be
decommissioned, maybe some earmarked for museums as static displays, and the rest eventually
scrapped with some parts sold on to supply other air forces.
I will leave you with this footage as the F-16s make their way to the runway
Thanks for watching