Two and a half fighters left

It has been a while since my last article. Personal life got in the way for some time. But I am back for the moment.

In the meantime a lot has happened. Both the British and the Americans have delivered a full proposal to the Belgian goverment. These proposals will be evaluated by a team of defence experts.
The candidates can submit a best and final proposal in February 2018. The government will then make a decision based on the recommendations of the experts.

Shortly after the deadline several articles again argued that the request for proposal is biased towards the F-35 JSF. Defence Minister Steven Vandeput denies that claim vigorously. Vandeput claims that he is committed to an open competition. He will follow the advice of the experts and won't succumb to lobbying. Their is still a shadow hanging over defence purchases since the blatant corruption of the Agusta scandal by a previous goverment. The opposition parties will also exploit any sign of favouritism. So Vandeput really tries to stay neutral. Of course the defence experts do have contact with the competitors. All in all for the moment I think that both the Eurofighter and the F-35 have a fighting chance.

Meanwhile the French did something weird. They did not deliver a full proposal, only a small letter. Essentially they propose a vague partnership for the future, including taking part in the development of the announced Franco-German fighter. So instead of only offering a fighter they propose a total cooperation package outside of the ongoing procedure. Is this a smart move?

I would say, definately NO. Vandeput is sensitive to accusations of favouritism. So it's unlikely that he'll be willing to make a deal outside of the official programme. The vague proposal can't be properly compared to the detailed proposals of the Eurofighter and F-35. The participation in the new Franco-German fighter is a nice prospect but we need those replacements NOW. The Belgian F-16's are really old. We need new jets within the next few years. The Franco-German jet won't be anywhere near ready. So we would need interim fighters in that case.

Essentially the French seem to be sort of offering to get Rafale's as interim fighters until the Franco-German project has come to fruition. But they  are unwilling to release detailed information about the Rafale's especially about the price.

Overall I think it is politically and juridically impossible to accept the vague French offer. So we just went down from five to two candidates.  That is unfortunate. The Rafale had in theory a  decent chance of winning. The French are some of our usual "partners in crime". The Rafale is a good and proven fighter. There are many industrial ties between Belgium and France.

It is a pity. I would love to have seen a full competion between the Rafala, F-35 and Eurofighter. It would have given us a wealth of information. I hope that there is a way to allow France to submit a best and final proposal in February along with the other two. That way we can get back on track with the official competition. The CD&V party seems inclinded to keep the door open for the French. We'll just have to see what the future brings us.

If the French are not allowed to reenter in February, then we'll have a duel between the Eurofighter and the F-35A. At this point I would say that both have a decent chance. The Eurofighter is a proven aircraft. It is European manufactured. It could be an attractive option because there is some reluctance to buy from Donald Trump. On the other hand the F-35A still has its merits. Lockheed Martin has several months left to iron out some issues with the JSF and to drive down the price.



We'll see what the future brings us.
Buy for now.