On 29 January, the company Belgium Engine Center (BEC) located in Herstal and the American company Pratt & Whitney, based in Connecticut, celebrated the protocol they signed recently that allows them to extend their collaboration in the frame of the Belgian F-16 replacement programme.
BEC, specialising in the maintenance of military jets, is a subsidiary of AIM Norway (Aerospace Industrial Maintenance). Among other things, this company provides maintenance and repair services for the equipment of about 15 air-forces, as well as for other military and civil organisations all over the world; while Pratt & Whitney Military Engines is an American aircraft engine builder. With the Belgian army's 54 F-16s coming to the end of their lifespan, the Belgian government has issued a RfGP (Request for Government Proposal) to replace them. This RfGP includes a section that insists on the importance of protecting national security interests and its industrial capacities. Therefore, the two companies have signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) in order to meet security interests as defined by the Belgian government.
The two companies already work together, since BEC is in charge of the maintenance, repair and revision of Pratt & Whitney's F100-220E engine, as well as the overhaul of engines in the F100-229 version found on F-15s and F-16s. Furthermore, Pratt & Whitney supplies the aircraft engine for the F-35 plane, one of the candidates for the Belgian market. AIM Norway was chosen by the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) as regional depot for the F-135 engine working on this F-35 aircraft.
To celebrate this new collaboration, BEC organised an event which welcomed about 50 people. A good way for Hugo Vanbockryck, Director-General of BEC, to promote the company's leading market position in the world as a centre of excellence for the maintenance, repair and upgrade of military aircraft engines.
O Sung Kwon, Pratt & Whitney’s Executive Director for international development, is delighted with the strong collaboration between Pratt & Whitney and BEC and appreciates the chance it offers them to strengthen transatlantic cooperation in the field of defence through a promising partnership with the Belgian industry.