according to what i heared, it was one of the prototypes and that the AMI aircraft was in the static at the time.

Belgian F-16’s to be withdrawn by 2023.

Defence Minister Pieter De Crem has said that Belgiums fleet of F-16AM/BM fighters are to be withdrawn from service by 2023. a program to select, evaluate and fund the aircraft will be set up over the next 8 to 10 years.
possible favorite is the Lockheed F-35A, with the possibility of taken over some aircraft from the Dutch JSF order. but his plan faces political interference, as the Nationalist party N-VA sees the F-35A as to expensive and suggests a cheaper alternative or temporary lease of new fighters.

source (in dutch): http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/inp/2011/10/19/R302.htm

im skipping RIAT this year, maybe next year 🙂

ive been following the MMRCA requirement for some time, and i would like to chare my thoughts:

the least possible winner in my book are F-16IN, basicly deu to the fact that its an aircraft thats over 35 years old, compared to the F/A-18, the F-16 hasnt changed much over the years (well, outside atleast).
the biggest reason is that by the time Inia will get its first F-16, other users will be retiring there’s. even with an upgrade, the F-16 is still outdated. the aircraft has no future (Lockheed will stop production soon (after 2014) in favour of F-35)

from what ive seen in a Indian News report on Youtube, the MIG-35’s engine appeast to be underpowered, i dont know if its true or not. but the MIG-35 in my eyes is the same as the F-16, only it has 2 engines and TVC, but TVC is yet to prove itsself in combat.

the Gripen-NG is a good aircraft, its fast, decent capabilities, low aquasition and maintainance costs,… but i heared that they were offering it without an AESA radar (same news report). if you want to sell something, recent technology such as AESA is a must have.

that leaves the F/A-18E/F, the Rafale and the typhoon in the top-3. the F/A-18 is a good competitor, as the aircraft can operate from both land bases by the IAF and Aircraft carriers by the IN. same goes for the Rafale (Rafale B, C and M variants). but compared to the Rafale, the Typhoon and Superbug gives more bang for your buck. btw Eurofighter is offering the Typhoon with full tech-transfer.

hoping for France that the politicians dont screw up another export sale (as they did with UAE, Morroco and Saudi Arabia) by saying all the wrong things at the wrong time. to bad that Dassault was so dumb to withdraw the Mirage 2000 from the market in favour of the rafale. it was a cheaper aircraft with lot of export and upgrade capabilities, just like the F-16. but i dont think it had a chance in MMRCA anyway, same reason as the F-16.

On a sidenote, the S-58s codes are different: OT: they are civilian registrations (I’d say)

actually no, the OT was the military registration up until the late 80’s, mostly for helicopters.
the Belgian Civilian code is OO.
as noted the A109 have the Hxx code, the Alouette III has the M-0x, CE-0x = Embraer ERJ135/145, CA-0x = Airbus A310 (now withdrawn)

the UAV’s apparently do not use the 2-letter code, they use a 3-digit numbercode instead, i dont know if this is gonna be a new standard or not?

the serials for the upcoming NH90’s are not yet known, but sourced some time ago are suggesting a HN-xx code.

the atlantique in service with the RAF seems very unlikely, as some of the airframes are almost as old as the nimrod MR’s.
IMO, i think a P-8K Poseidon MRA.1 would fit the bill nicely, on the other hand there are a few alternatives:

-Airbus C235MPA Persuader (i remember an A319 based airframe offered once to India and UK)
http://www.airbusmilitary.com/Surveillance/CN235Persuader.aspx

-Embraer ERJ-145MPA
http://www.embraerdefensesystems.com.br/english/content/isr_systems/emb_145_multi_role.asp

-Boeing P-8 Poseidon
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/p8a/index.html

-Airbus A320 MPA
http://www.aviamarket.org/reviews/military-aircraft/490-airbus-mpa.html

-ATR-72 ASW/MP
http://www.deagel.com/Maritime-Patrol-Aircraft/ATR-72-ASW_a000090004.aspx

or if your desperate, there are still a few old P-3’s arround 🙂

power to counter missiles, energy weapons,…..
then its settled, the USAF’s next gen fighter,…..is the X-wing 😀