Florennes Air Base prepares for arrival of drone aircrafts

Belgium’s Florennes Air Base in Namur province is to be completely upgraded over the coming few years, reports RTBF. Four MQ-9B new-generation remotely piloted aircraft are set to join the military base, while its current F-16 fighter jets will be replaced in 2025 by F-35 supersonic combat aircraft.

Currently home to two fighter squadrons, the base requires additional infrastructure to accommodate the new aircraft. Excavators are already clearing the land where the new buildings will be erected for the project, which is expected to last 18 months.

The MQ9Bs are US-designed drones, 11.7 metres in length with a wingspan of 24 metres, will enable the base to expand its operations. "We had remotely piloted aircraft before, the B-Hunter, but which had much smaller capacities," explained base commander Colonel Philippe Goffin.

"It was a smaller aircraft with piston engines that had a lower speed. It could only fly in favourable weather conditions and also had quite limited sensors. The MQ-9B can fly for 40 hours. It’s equipped with extremely powerful sensors. So for us, it's really a new capability that we will develop."

Reconnaissance mission for drones

The aircraft will be used for reconnaissance missions. "We were deployed until the end of last year in Jordan for operations in Iraq and Syria. We could very well consider deploying our MQ-9s for a reconnaissance mission from Jordan and they will be taken into charge from Florennes," said Colonel Goffin.

"These are absolutely not automatic systems. They are not robots. They are really planes that are piloted, controlled remotely. The only difference is that rather than the pilot being physically seated in the device, he is sitting in the control station here at the base," he added.

Other countries, including the UK and the US, use these devices to bomb targets. While in Belgium, this is not yet the case, the question is under debate by the government.

The budget for the purchase of the MQ-9B drones is around €160 million. The first ones should be delivered by the beginning of 2024.

Photo: F-16 fighter aircraft on occasion of 105th anniversary of first squadron BAF at Florennes in May 2022 © Belga/Gerard Gaudin