Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon has landed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona (United States), where the first Belgian pilots will soon be trained for the new F-35 fighter plane. However, the Federal Government did not give him permission to meet the instructors.
The base in Arizona is the main training location in the US for the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Around the facility are four training areas, each of which is larger than Belgium. Pilots can practice taking out anti-aircraft defences there, among other things.
The Netherlands, which as a partner country of the US had faster access to the F-35s, is already engaged in the training. The first Belgian pilots only arrived last summer: two experienced F-16 pilots and about 10 technicians. Jambon flew to the air base with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in the Dutch Government's plane.
At the end of this week, the first Belgian F-35 will roll off the production line at manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Once it has completed the necessary tests, the pilots can start testing with the aircraft.
'Narrow-minded'
"Apparently the Federal Government has banned the Belgian soldiers from having contact with me," Jambon told VRT. "I find that strange. I also do not forbid the Federal Government to have contact with people from healthcare or education. I find that I am not even allowed to say hello. I think that is a bit narrow-minded, but it will not undermine our mission."
That mission is mainly focused on technology, as several Flemish and Belgian companies contributed to the F-35. For example, Solvay was one of the developers of the coating that makes the device virtually invisible on radar.
"As long as the flap under which the weapons are located does not open, the F-35 cannot be detected by a hostile aircraft," said Joost Luijsterburg, who heads the Dutch training programme.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutten and Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon upon arrival at Luke Air Force Base. Credit: Belga/Dirk Waem
Additionally, Flanders is really making a difference in semiconductors, also called chips. In the coming days, Jambon and Rutten will visit the major players in Silicon Valley and Silicon Desert. With a delegation of 16 Flemish companies, they will visit Microsoft, Google and Nvidia, among others.
"Worldwide, the Leuven company Imec is the knowledge institution when it comes to chips," said Jambon. "There is a lot of production capacity here in Arizona, so the Americans are looking at what is happening at Imec to enter into partnerships with them. Later this week, we will visit various American universities that also want to collaborate with Imec."
