The Council of Ministers approved a framework agreement on Friday with US defence company Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons manufacturer. The government looking to strengthen the group’s cooperation with the Belgian industry for the production and support of the F-35 fighter weapon system.
The contract is set for three years and will be paid by the Ministry of the Economy over two years. It amounts to €1.5 million this year and €738,000 next year.
The aim is to “support Belgian industries in the aeronautics sector to stand out in the F-35 market”, according to a statement from the ministers of Economy, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, and Defence, Ludivine Dedonder.
Belgian companies will have the opportunity to participate on an equal footing in the F-35 supply chain, under the terms of the agreement. Lockheed Martin will also organise a bi-annual event (“Industry Day”) in collaboration with Belgian industry, to promote cooperation opportunities and strengthen ties between companies.
Lockheed Martin will assist Belgian companies in connecting with the appropriate departments within the Lockheed Group, providing bidding guidelines, and offering training on US federal and defence procurement regulations.
The aircraft manufacturer will also provide regular reports on the opportunities offered by the framework agreement, which would allow Belgian companies to receive feedback on their bids and to learn lessons for subsequent bids. The FPS Economy will monitor and evaluate the plan.
“Our ambition is to optimise the potential economic spin-offs in Belgium and to bring our F-16-related companies into this new market” of the F-35, stressed Minister for the Economy, Pierre-Yves Dermagne (PS).
For his colleague Dedonder (PS) the policy "echoes the one put in place with the STAR Plan, and in particular through the DIRS – Defence, Industry & Research Strategy, which consisted of supporting [Belgian] companies as well as research centres in the defence and dual technology sectors.”
In October 2018, Belgium's government purchased thirty-four F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters for €3.8 billion to replace its fleet of fifty ageing F-16s – the first of which had been delivered in 1979. The first four are not expected to arrive at Florennes Air Force Base in Belgium until 2025, in principle in April.
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Known as one of the most expensive weapons in the world, Lockheed Martin's F-35 jet plane is also embroiled a variety of technical issues, despite the fact that the company has built and delivered more than 800 aircrafts of this kind, costing $100 million apiece.
The plane was meant to be suitable for navy, air force and marine operations, but it "has been plagued by a seemingly endless series of bugs, including problems with its stealth coating, sustained supersonic flight, helmet-mounted display, excessive vibration from its cannon, and even vulnerability to being hit by lightning," Business Insider reports.
