The market for the renewal of the fighter jets of the belgian army has obviously not delivered all its secrets. It even turns into a nightmare for the government of Charles Michel. This operation, which should represent an amount of 15 billion euros ($3.6 billion for the purchase of the devices, the rest for their maintenance on four decades) had already been marred by the withdrawal mysterious of the two manufacturers, the american Boeing and the Swedish Gripen.
Added to this was the approach of Dassault, who is not involved in the official procedure of call for tenders in order to propose an ” expanded partnership “. This has blurred the game – that the authorities wanted to be transparent – and creates, in fine, of political tensions and suspicions.
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Belgium will have to choose between three candidates for its combat aircraft
Tuesday, 20 march, a new disturbing element was evoked by the daily De Standaard. A report in the possession of the state major of the army stresses that the 54 aircraft american F-16s of the belgian defence could very well steal six more years, which would defer the date of their renewal in 2023 to 2029.
