349 Fighter Squadron

May 11, 2010 – Tuesday May 11th at 08:00 a.m. The first of 6 jets, with pilots from all 4 Belgian F-16 squadrons, took off with various destinations east of Kleine Brogel… Way east! Final destination of our journey was Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. There a changeover was planned with 4 F-16's coming from Kandahar, Afghanistan

Our first hop took the jets via France and Italy inbound Greece and the first landing airfield: Araxos Air Base. Araxos Air Base is located in the rugged, isolated Greek countryside north of Athens in the western Peleponnessos peninsula. The Hellenic Air Force is one of the few remaining operators of the A-7 Corsair II, flown out of 336 Bomber Squadron located in Araxos. Next to the A-7’s, Araxos is also home of the 335 Fighter Squadron, flying state of the art F-16 C/D Block 52+ Advanced aircraft. After a warm welcome, a quick drink and lunch, the engines were started again and the second flight took us to Jordan.

En route, European mainland was left behind and after crossing the Mediterranean Sea we entered Egyptian airspace, turned around Israel over the Red Sea and during our descent towards Azraq we caught a glimpse of the Dead Sea. Under the clear blue sky we saw a totally different landscape than we’re used to: desert has something very impressive and yet it looked all the same. After our small sightseeing tour our destination came in view: Azraq Air Base (more correct: Al Shaheed Muwaffaq Salti Air Base). The Royal Jordanian Air Force flies out of Azraq Air Base with Mirage F1’s and F-16.

After landing we were welcomed by Belgian crewchiefs. Our colleagues from the 2WTac had their squadron move in Jordan, and the rear party welcomed us in Azraq. Those guys did a great job looking after the jets and solving some minor issues! Another unexpected sight was the FB 01, Belgian’s first double seater, which was standing in its new hangar, but in a totally different state then it used to be (FB01 is now used for spare parts after being bought by the Jordanian Air Force in 2008).

After a total of almost 5 flight hours all 6 jets made it safely to Azraq.

The second day of the ferry flight would bring us eventually towards Al Dhafra, but first we had to cross the Saudi Arabian desert. Just after take off we entered already Saudi airspace. All 6 jets made it airborne again; nevertheless maintenance had to work hard to solve an issue on one aircraft.

After crossing the huge featureless desert of Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, full of oil rigs, was quite a relief. Our destination came close by. After 2h30 flight we made initial contact with Al Dhafra, located about an hour outside of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for landing instructions. During the final descent we could see how huge Al Dhafra Air Base really is. F-16’s, Mirage 2000’s, KC-10 refueling aircraft,… are stationed there, operated by French Air Force, USAF and United Arab Emirates Air Force. Somewhere on base, 6 Belgian F-16’s were already waiting for our arrival.

We reached the goal of our ferry flight: all 6 F-16’s made it towards its destination where the change of aircraft could be completed. 4 of the jets we brought continued on to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan, to be employed in Operation Guardian Falcon. The same number came back from Kandahar to receive their maintenance overhaul in Belgium.

The next day we started our way home, bringing now a total of 8 F-16’s home, together with 2 pilots who had been in Kandahar for nearly 2,5 months. In again a 2 day journey all 8 jets made it home safely; the changeover was a success and 349 had been in the United Arab Emirates, visiting the Burj Khalifa (highest man made building in the world) in Dubai. If only all missions would be this exotic!

April 15, 2010 – Thursday April 15th brought a first for 349 Squadron. A 349 pilot was the first to fly with 600 gallon wingtanks on a Belgian F-16. Normally, F-16's fly with 370 gallon tanks under the wings and a 300 gallon tank on the centerline pylon. Difficult to spot with an untrained eye, the picture illustrates the difference in size between the two tanks.

The 600 gallon tanks increase the total amount of fuel by around 3000 lbs, bringing it to approximately 15000lbs. Needless to say that this leads to an extended range and more loiter time in air-to-air missions.

The use of 600 gallon tanks is still a trial; the tanks being provided by the Portuguese Air Force, which has been using them for over a decade.  Maybe that after a succesfull evaluation, the tanks may become part of the Belgian inventory.

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