The 1st Wing of Beauvechain organised for the second time a "European Trainers Meet" on Thursday 15 September 2005. The meet coincided with the departure of the Belgian Alpha Jet trainers to their new home at Cazaux in France and brought together many European trainer aircraft and/or delegation from foreign European countries at Beauvechain air Base.
In order to have a good overview on a firepower demonstration involving tanks, F-16's, Alouette II's and Agusta helicopters, I was offered a very interesting flight in Alouette II A-47.
Some pictures taken on 1 July 2004, when Belgium concluded the three month operation called
"Baltic Air Policing" at the Lithuanian airbase of Zokniai near Siauliai. On 26 March 2004 the Belgian Council of Ministers had agreed to fulfil the request by NATO to organise a "Quick Reaction Alert" (QRA) at Lithuania in order to guard the airspace over the three Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. After becoming full NATO member states, the three countries, still fearing their very powerful neighbour Russia while not being equipped with the means to defend their own airspace, had turned to the alliance requesting a credible air-defence.
On 21 September 2004, French Marine Rafale M Multi-role fighters visited the Belgian airbase of Florennes to arrange their participation in a future TLP (Tactical Leadership Programme) exercise. This marks the first occasion that operational Rafale fighters are deployed to Belgium.
