The air component of the Belgian Armed Forces has suspended operation of the fourth generation F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters due to problems with the F100 engines, reports The Drive.
The publication notes that at present these aircraft form the basis of the combat aviation of Brussels, and the rescue of the country’s airspace in the event of an enemy attack is entrusted to the Royal Air Force (Air Force) of the neighboring Netherlands.
The Drive recalls that in February one of the Belgian F-16 Fighting Falcon had a nozzle burned out during takeoff. According to the publication, the Belgian Air Component is actively involved in NATO missions, in particular, in protecting the Baltic countries from potential adversaries, primarily Russia.
The publication notes that the airspace of the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) is controlled on a rotational basis by Brussels and Amsterdam, therefore the temporary forced replacement of the Air component with the Royal Air Force should go smoothly.
In March, a selection of the American magazine Popular Mechanics named the coolest, according to the authors of the publication, planes that took off for the first time in the past four decades. Among them are three aircraft that took off for the first time in modern Russia.