Belgium retires first Dassault Falcon 20

the aircraft in question is CM-01, who will now be stored at Melsbroek AB (Brussels). the aircraft will likely be used as a source for spare parts for CM-02.
the Falcon 20’s had been in service since 1973, they recieved an extensive upgrade and new more fuel-efficient engines in 2004.

the reitirement of the aircraft follow announcement of a number of defence cuts (a more detailed list is expected in April 2015).

IMHO, they should just withdraw both Falcon 20’s and the sole 900. aside from the Falcons, Belgium also operates 2 ERJ-135, 2 ERJ-145 and a leased Airbus A321 as part of its “White Fleet”.

yes there is, in fact, the Russians were the first to incorporate datalink with the introduction of the MIG-31 (RK-RLDN and APD-518 digital secure datalinks)
the T-50 will use a TKS-2 datalink, a Russian Link16 (also used on the Su-27)

just reading that the service entry of the HAL IJT Ajeet got delayed (AGAIN).
i just keep wondering why India hasnt cancelled the project yet, its over budget, 10 years to late and it still has countless technical/performance problems and design flaws.

if it was up to me, i’d scrap the whole thing and just buy more Hawks, but since its a stage-2 trainer, i would go with the PC-21 or Textron Scorpion.
the Macchi M345 is also a good alternative, but with the problems that India had with the Italians in the past (the Finmachanica/AW101 bribery scandal) i dont see this happening.

Again, missing the point.

The Red Arrows aircraft are & always have been part of a larger fleet, interchangeable with the rest of them. Adding a new type to be operated solely by the Red Arrows adds a logistics chain just to support a display team. Try justifying that to the MoD. Your feet won’t touch the ground on the way out.

then why not replace the Royal Navy and the rest of the RAF Hawk T1’s with the same type?
im sure the 28 Hawk T2’s in RAF service arent enough, so why not order more of them for the Royal Navy?
you have to stay realistic, the Hawk T1’s cant fly forever.

the AN-70 IMHO is more a limbo project that was revived 2 times already.
sure, recent upgrade of the original prototype has shown many improvements, but as far as orders go, there have only been MOU’s from Russia.
its been 20 years since the first prototype first flew, and so far there there have been no deliveries to Russia (who ordered 60 of the type in 2010).
the Ukraine Air Force also had 2 on order, but none delivered either so far.

the recent conflict in the Ukraine of the Pro-Western government vs the pro-Russian Rebels havent actually improved the situation,
and after Russia “invaded” the Ukraine earlier this year, has put doubt into those orders.
so, as far as no production aircraft have been presented, and no firm orders are confirmed, the AN-70 is nothing more then a dead duck.
i must admit, i like the aircraft and i think it has great potential, but in the current military and political situation between Ukraine and Russia……..well, need i say more?
just saying, lose promises dont fill the order book and makes the AN-70 a waste of money and resources, a real shame.

IMO, what the AN124 is concerned, the plan to build new production machines is also in danger for the same reason.

Belgian Low-viz :

the Low-Vis roundels have proven to be unsuccesfull, thats why all NH90’s delivered to belgium will have the standard high-vis roundels placed on them on arrival.
so far the NH90-NFH (RN-02, and soon RN01 (to arrive in Belgium next week)) has these, aswell as the TTH versions (RN05, 06 and 07).