Source : Scramble Magazine's Facebook page.Scramble Magazine wrote:Belgian Alpha Jets retired
On 13 January 2020, the last three Force Aerienne Belge (Belgische Luchtmacht) Alpha Jets returned from Cazaux air base (France) after more than fifteen years of joint Fighter training with the Armée de l'air (AdlA, French Air Force). The aircraft landed at Beauvechain air base (Bevekom) around 13:00hrs LT .
In 2003, the French and Belgian Air Forces decided to set up a joint training school. The cooperation was due to an overcapacity of Belgian Alpha Jet training aircraft, a minimum quota of Belgian students and a shortage of aircraft with the AdlA. Since June 2004, the Belgian 11 Squadron has had a permanent detachment at Cazaux, where it had been incorporated in L'Escadron de Transition Opérationnelle 2/8 'Nice' (ETO02.008), with a total of 29 Alpha Jet 1B+ training aircraft. Together with the French Alpha Jets they formed the French-Belgian Advanced Jet Training School (AJeTS).
AJeTs ceased joint training in October 2018. In total 165 Belgian pilots were trained at Cazaux. The school realised more than 50,000 flight hours with the Alpha Jets in the last fifteen years. It had already been decided that, due to budget constraints, the Belgian Alpha Jets will not be replaced. The aircraft have been available for sale since October 2018. The mentioned last three aircraft will join the others already stored at Beauvechain.
For jet pilot training, the Belgian Air Force joined the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Programme (ENJJPT) at Sheppard Air Force Base (TX). ENJJPT is NATO’s only multi-nationally manned and managed flight training programme. It is hosted by the 80th Flying Training Wing within of the US Air Force. The 80th FTW has a fleet of 201 training aircraft - consisting of both the T-6A Texan II and T-38C Talon - to train future fighter pilots. Fourteen NATO partners have joined the ENJJPT since its foundation in 1983.
Photo credits: Jakub Kuba and Belgian Air Force
