00:00You
00:30Belgium is enhancing its air defense capabilities with the addition of 34 new F-35 Lightning II
00:42fighter jets. Belgian pilots recently flew the first F-35s from the United States to Florent
00:48Air Base in Belgium, marking the first time in nearly 50 years that the country has introduced
00:52a new type of fighter jet into service. This fifth-generation fighter is a significant upgrade,
00:58strengthening Belgium's national defense and reinforcing its role as a reliable NATO ally.
01:04The F-35s are designed to integrate seamlessly with other NATO air assets,
01:08improving coordination and readiness to defend NATO airspace.
01:22Belgian pilots received training in the United States alongside other NATO pilots,
01:26ensuring they are fully prepared to operate the advanced aircraft in joint missions.
01:36The F-35 is really the best aircraft you can have at this time on Earth. So with this aircraft,
01:45I'm nearly invisible. The power of the engine can bring me extremely high, extremely fast,
01:52so I can shoot my missiles extremely far away from the threat. There is obviously a huge amount of sensor
02:00on that aircraft which enables me to detect and to identify a threat which is much further, the detection
02:09will happen much further than any other aircraft being able to do that. With that aircraft, we are ready for anything.
02:16That is the message basically. So we are capable of doing all the missions the NATO will ask us to do.
02:22We are able to protect the NATO airspace, protect the NATO countries. We are protecting the east part right now.
02:31As you have seen in Poland, one F-35, one Dutch F-35 was able to destroy a drone. So that's what we are doing with that type of technology.
02:43The enemy is evolving and that is the involvement we have to counteract that enemy involvement.
02:49Well, for Belgium it's a great day because we enter in the area of fifth generation with a new capability.
02:55I think we've had a lot of luck and we were able to protect NATO with our F-16s together with our partners,
03:02our European participating air force partners. With the arrival of the F-35, we are back with those colleagues and partners
03:10and we will continue to defend the values of NATO and our countries.
03:14Well, I think the message we want to send is that we are ready to defend, that we have the capabilities to defend
03:19and that we have the will to defend them together and that we are now, by having almost all air forces the same aircraft, almost,
03:29or there will be in the future, that we are able to do that together shoulder to shoulder and to use each other's strength
03:36to make sure that we actually make a statement that think twice, maybe three times before you want to hurt NATO.
03:43You've heard NATO.
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