a
World Defense & Security News - Belgium
 
 
Boeing withdraws from Belgium's F-16 fighter replacement competition
 
The US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced this morning that it will not compete for Beligum's F-16 fighter jets replacement program. Boeing was supposed to answer the RfGP issued last month with its F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
     
Boeing withdraws from Belgium s F 16 fighter replacement competition 640 001An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the “Eagles” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 115 conducts aerial refueling operations with a U.S. Air Force KC-10A Extender
(Credit: U.S. Navy/Lt. Chris Pagenkopf/Released)
     
"Boeing informed the Belgian government that it will not participate in its bidders conference today, nor respond to the request for proposals for a new fighter aircraft," (the "Request for governmental Proposal", RfGP), sent last month by the Belgian Ministry of Defense to five state agencies - two American and three European - each representing a type of aircraft, the US company said in a statement to the Belgian news agency Belga.

"We regret that after reviewing the request we do not see an opportunity to compete on a truly level playing field with the [...] F/A-18 Super Hornet." the company added, describing the aircraft as "extremely capable" for its cost effectiveness.

Belgium approved in last December the purchase of 34 new fighter aircraft to be acquired from Spring 2018 for an amount of 3,573 billion euros.


Only four platforms are still competing: Lockheed Martin’s F-35A stealth fighter, the Rafale F3R from Dassault Aviation, the Eurofighter Typhoon proposed by the eponym European consortium, and the JAS 39E/F Gripen manufactured by the Swedish company Saab.