Belgium is deploying four Lockheed Martin F-16AM fighters with 100 personnel to Kandahar, Afghanistan, starting in October.

The Belgian detachment also is expected to be joined by a similarly sized unit from Denmark, and will join six F-16AMs from the Netherlands already in theater.

Belgian defense minister Pieter De Crem announced the Belgian deployment Feb. 1. The announcement comes on the same day German government officials are saying that Germany will not send additional forces to Afghanistan, despite an urgent letter from U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates requesting more NATO allies do so.

The U.S. government has repeatedly called for allies to increase their military commitment to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Additional forces are needed particularly for ISAF's Regional Command South. The command is headquartered in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, and is comprised primarily of British, Canadian and Netherlands contingents, supported by Australians, Danes and several smaller units from other nations.

Belgian officials denied that the decision to deploy fighter aircraft to Kandahar was directly linked to U.S. pressure, saying that discussions about cooperation with the Netherlands air force in Kandahar had been ongoing for some time.

Meanwhile, the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) is in the process of swapping its six F-16AMs at Kandahar for aircraft that have received the latest M4 modification standard. In January, the first two M4 aircraft were ferried to Kandahar, while the remainder will have arrived by the end of February.

The M4-modified jets are bringing with them the latest Northrop Grumman Litening AT Block II advanced targeting pods and L-3 Communications-supplied Rover III two-way datalink systems to exchange target imagery between the pilot and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) on the ground.

The M4 aircraft also will introduce a capability for the Dutch to use Boeing-supplied Joint Direct Attach Munition (JDAM) precision-guided bombs. Combined with the ROVER datalink, this will allow Dutch pilots in Afghanistan to attack JTAC-identified ground targets through the weather, even when the target is obscured by clouds.

Up to now, Dutch F-16s in Afghanistan relied on GBU-12 laser-guided bombs which require a clear line of sight to the target.

Another new capability Dutch pilots will use on the M4 aircraft from Kandahar is the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, supplied by U.S.-based Vision Systems International.

The RNLAF's new Rafael-supplied RecceLite airborne reconnaissance system is not now being deployed into Afghanistan, however, since operational test and evaluation has yet to be completed, a spokesman for the service says.

Credit: Lockheed Martin