1.
Belgium
–
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
2.
Belgian Air Component
–
The Belgian Air Component is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces. The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 and is one of the worlds oldest air services, the commander is Major General aviator Frederik Vansina, appointed on 23 July 2009. The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 as a branch of the Belgian Army, King Alberts interest in the military use of aircraft was the main impetus for its formation. Coincidentally, in the aviation sector, Baron Pierre de Caters earned the first civil pilots brevet that same year. Caters would promptly establish an aviation school, at approximately the same time, the War Ministry followed the French militarys example and had pilots earn a civil pilots brevet before their military one. In 1910, three Belgian lieutenants earned their pilots brevets at the school, paying their own fees, two of the artillery lieutenants were Baudoin de Montens dOosterwyck, who earned Brevet No.19 on 30 September, and Alfred Sarteel, granted No.23 on 10 November. The third lieutenant, Georges Nelis, was the new forces first aviation candidate, an aircraft was personally purchased for him. In spring of 1911, the new air force established its aviation school with five pilots. It received its first aircraft via Baron Caters, who gave the aircraft to King Albert and they were disciplined for their efforts. Belgium entered World War I with aircraft tasked solely for reconnaissance missions, a truck was assigned to each squadron, along with a fifth truck serving as a mobile workshop. Each squadron had a commander, five pilots, and six observers, as a result, most of the new aviators were from the Engineers and Artillery components of the Belgian armed forces. As the war began, a squadron was created, staffed with civilian pilots called to the colors. Sous Lieutenant Henri Crombez flew one of the first war patrols, adjutant Behaeghe was the first to engage an enemy, a few days later. On 3 January 1915, two guns supplied by British were fitted to two Belgian aircraft, making a dual effort against the foe possible, these were Belgiums first dedicated fighter planes. In February, thirteen of the Belgian airmen flew 28 offensive patrols, on 26 March, Sous Lieutenant Boschmans sent a German two-seater into a steep dive when he seemed to hit the pilot, the German was not seen to either crash or land. This was the Belgian aviators first victory claim, in April, Lieutenant Fernand Jacquet mounted a machine gun on his pusher aircraft and sought out the enemy. On the 17th, he and his observer scored Belgiums first confirmed aerial victory, luckily for them, they missed, success would probably have blown them out of the sky. On 18 January 1916, the decision was made to form a fighter squadron
3.
Kleine Brogel
–
Peer is a municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1,2006, Peer had a population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a density of 182 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Peer, Grote-Brogel, Kleine-Brogel, Wauberg, Erpekom, Peer is the site of a famous annual blues music festival held in July. The village Grote Brogel, part of Peer, claims to be the birthplace of Pieter Bruegel, the Bruegel Foundation was also founded in Peer to research the history of Peer and Pieter Bruegel. Kleine Brogel, a village that is a part of Peer, rumours that American nuclear weapons under the NATO nuclear sharing program were stationed at Kleine Brogel have never been officially confirmed, but are now known to be true. A cable from the American Embassy in Brussels from Nov. Peer has in the quite a nice temperature. In the winter it normally snows, media related to Peer, Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
4.
Fighter aircraft
–
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft, as opposed to bombers and attack aircraft, whose main mission is to attack ground targets. The hallmarks of a fighter are its speed, maneuverability, many fighters have secondary ground-attack capabilities, and some are designed as dual-purpose fighter-bombers, often aircraft that do not fulfill the standard definition are called fighters. This may be for political or national security reasons, for advertising purposes, a fighters main purpose is to establish air superiority over a battlefield. Since World War I, achieving and maintaining air superiority has been considered essential for victory in conventional warfare, the word fighter did not become the official English-language term for such aircraft until after World War I. In the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force these aircraft were referred to as scouts into the early 1920s, the U. S. Army called their fighters pursuit aircraft from 1916 until the late 1940s. In most languages a fighter aircraft is known as a hunter, exceptions include Russian, where a fighter is an истребитель, meaning exterminator, and Hebrew where it is matose krav. As a part of nomenclature, a letter is often assigned to various types of aircraft to indicate their use. In Russia I was used, while the French continue to use C and this has always been the case, for instance the Sopwith Camel and other fighting scouts of World War I performed a great deal of ground-attack work. Several aircraft, such as the F-111 and F-117, have received fighter designations but had no fighter capability due to political or other reasons, the F-111B variant was originally intended for a fighter role with the U. S. Navy, but it was cancelled. This blurring follows the use of fighters from their earliest days for attack or strike operations against ground targets by means of strafing or dropping small bombs, versatile multirole fighter-bombers such as the F/A-18 Hornet are a less expensive option than having a range of specialized aircraft types. An interceptor is generally an aircraft intended to target bombers and so often trades maneuverability for climb rate, fighters were developed in World War I to deny enemy aircraft and dirigibles the ability to gather information by reconnaissance. Early fighters were very small and lightly armed by later standards, and most were built with a wooden frame, covered with fabric. As control of the airspace over armies became increasingly important all of the major powers developed fighters to support their military operations, between the wars, wood was largely replaced by steel tubing, then aluminium tubing, and finally aluminium stressed skin structures began to predominate. By World War II, most fighters were all-metal monoplanes armed with batteries of guns or cannons. By the end of the war, turbojet engines were replacing piston engines as the means of propulsion, further increasing aircraft speed. Since the weight of the engine was so less than on piston engined fighters. This in turn required the development of ejection seats so the pilot could escape, in the 1950s, radar was fitted to day fighters, since pilots could no longer see far enough ahead to prepare for any opposition. Since then, radar capabilities have grown enormously and are now the method of target acquisition
5.
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
–
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft, over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U. S. Air Force, in 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons, the F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the second most common operational military aircraft in the world. Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters, boyds work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss, and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, however, the Air Forces leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member and this was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional as the USAF had no plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics Model 401 and Northrops P-600 for the prototype development. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia, the high/low mix would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973, and its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California and its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, the slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time
6.
Dutch language
–
It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after English and German. Dutch is one of the closest relatives of both German and English and is said to be roughly in between them, Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic and incorporates more Romance loans than German but far fewer than English. In both Belgium and the Netherlands, the official name for Dutch is Nederlands, and its dialects have their own names, e. g. Hollands, West-Vlaams. The use of the word Vlaams to describe Standard Dutch for the variations prevalent in Flanders and used there, however, is common in the Netherlands, the Dutch language has been known under a variety of names. It derived from the Old Germanic word theudisk, one of the first names used for the non-Romance languages of Western Europe. It literarily means the language of the people, that is. The term was used as opposed to Latin, the language of writing. In the first text in which it is found, dating from 784, later, theudisca appeared also in the Oaths of Strasbourg to refer to the Germanic portion of the oath. This led inevitably to confusion since similar terms referred to different languages, owing to Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English term came to refer exclusively to the Dutch. A notable exception is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a West Central German variety called Deitsch by its speakers, Jersey Dutch, on the other hand, as spoken until the 1950s in New Jersey, is a Dutch-based creole. In Dutch itself, Diets went out of common use - although Platdiets is still used for the transitional Limburgish-Ripuarian Low Dietsch dialects in northeast Belgium, Nederlands, the official Dutch word for Dutch, did not become firmly established until the 19th century. This designation had been in use as far back as the end of the 15th century, one of them was it reflected a distinction with Hoogduits, High Dutch, meaning the language spoken in Germany. The Hoog was later dropped, and thus, Duits narrowed down in meaning to refer to the German language. g, in English, too, Netherlandic is regarded as a more accurate term for the Dutch language, but is hardly ever used. Old Dutch branched off more or less around the same time Old English, Old High German, Old Frisian and Old Saxon did. During that period, it forced Old Frisian back from the western coast to the north of the Low Countries, on the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in nowadays France and Germany. The division in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, one of the few moments linguists can detect somewhat of a revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age, the Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups, East, West, and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots, Frisian, Low German and High German
7.
Wing (military aviation unit)
–
In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group, each squadron will contain around 20 planes. On its establishment in 1912, the British Royal Flying Corps was intended to be an inter-service, combined force of the British Army and Royal Navy. Given the rivalry existed between the army and navy, new terminology was used, in order to avoid marking the corps out as having an army or navy ethos. While the term wing had been used in the cavalry, its general use predominated. Accordingly, the wing, with its allusion of flight, was chosen as the term of subdivision and the corps was split into a Military Wing. Each wing consisted of a number of squadrons, by 1914, the naval wing had become the Royal Naval Air Service, and gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps. The Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918, the RFC usage of wing was maintained in the new service. In most Commonwealth air forces, as well as some others, in these air forces a wing is inferior to a group. Originally all wings were commanded by a wing commander. From World War II onwards, operational flying wings have usually been commanded by group captains, a wing may also be used for non-flying units, such as the infantry forces of the RAF Regiment. Additionally, RAF stations are divided into wings. In 2006, expeditionary air wings were established at the RAFs main operating bases and these expeditionary air wings consist of the deployable elements of the main operating base and other supplementary forces. Expeditionary air wings may be subordinated to an air group. In the British Air Training Corps, a wing consists of a number of squadrons within a geographical area. In this context, a wing is inferior to a region which is made up of six wings, in all, there are 36 Air Training Corps wings in six regions within the United Kingdom, each of which is commanded by a RAFVR wing commander. The size of a wing follows US usage, it varies greatly, in the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, declaring them to be Wings under the overall control of 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg
8.
Belgian Armed Forces
–
The Belgian Armed Forces is the national military of Belgium. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830, since that time Belgian armed forces have fought in World War I, World War II, the Cold War, Kosovo, Somalia and Afghanistan. The ParaCommando Brigade intervened several times in Central-Africa, for maintaining public order, the Armed Forces comprise four branches, the Land Component, the Air Component, the Marine Component and the Medical Component. It is currently active in Lebanon, Afghanistan, the Gulf of Aden, the need for a regular army was however soon acknowledged. The basis for recruitment was one of conscription under which exemptions could be purchased by obtaining substitutes. In practice this meant that only about a quarter of each years eligible intake actually served, as part of the national policy of even-handed neutrality, the 19th century Belgian Army was deployed as an essentially defensive force in fortifications facing the Dutch, German and French borders. Mobilisation plans simply required reservists to report to their depots, without arrangements being made in advance for deployment in a direction or against a particular enemy. Recruitment difficulties caused the army to remain below its intended strength of 20,000 men, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 required full mobilisation for nearly a year, a process which showed up serious training and structural weaknesses. The presence of Belgian forces in strength along the borders did however ensure that the combat at no time spilled over into Belgian territory. In Belgium conscripts were selected through the drawing of ballots, and this system favored the well-off and had been discarded elsewhere as inefficient and unpatriotic. For those conscripted the terms of service required eight years in the regular army, various categories of volunteer enjoyed such privileges as being able to specify their branch of service, bounties and higher pay. The Papal Army based in Rome included from 1860 a battalion-sized unit known as the Tirailleurs Franco-Belges, recruited amongst volunteers from both countries, this became the Pontifical Zouaves in 1861 and fought as an allied force on the French side in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1864 a Corps Expeditionnaire Belge was raised for service in Mexico, originally intended to serve as the Guard of the Belgian-born Empress Charlotte this 1,500 strong force was largely drawn from volunteers seconded from the Belgian Army. Known popularly as the Belgian Legion, it saw service in Mexico as part of the Imperial forces. From 1885 the Force Publique was established as the garrison and police force in the Belgian Congo. Initially led by a variety of European mercenaries, this force was subsequently officered by Belgian regulars after 1908. From December 1904 a small detachment of Belgian troops was based in China as the Guard of the Belgian Legation in Peking. Reforms undertaken in the years of the 20th century included the abolition in 1909 of the system of drawing lots for the selection of the annual intake of conscripts
9.
Kleine Brogel Air Base
–
Kleine Brogel Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located 0.8 nautical miles east of Kleine-Brogel, in the municipality Peer, Belgium. It is home to the Belgian 10th Tactical Wing, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons, should that be the case, Kleine Brogel Air Base would be the only location in Belgium with nuclear weapons. None of the five NATO member states, whose air forces allegedly might share in its premises nuclear bombs with the USAF, have provided an official confirmation of its existence. However, former Italian President Francesco Cossiga declared that the Aeronautica Militare hosted or shared American nuclear bombs, in an interview he talked about French weapons. In the same way, on 10 June 2013, former Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers confirmed the existence of 22 shared nuclear bombs at Volkel Air Base. Kleine Brogel Air Base is also the home of the United States Air Forces 701st Munitions Support Squadron which allegedly is the unit in charge of looking after the nuclear bombs. AFN Benelux broadcast from Kleine Brogel Air Base in the 106.2 MHz in FM
10.
Peer, Belgium
–
Peer is a municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1,2006, Peer had a population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a density of 182 inhabitants per km². The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities, Peer, Grote-Brogel, Kleine-Brogel, Wauberg, Erpekom, Peer is the site of a famous annual blues music festival held in July. The village Grote Brogel, part of Peer, claims to be the birthplace of Pieter Bruegel, the Bruegel Foundation was also founded in Peer to research the history of Peer and Pieter Bruegel. Kleine Brogel, a village that is a part of Peer, rumours that American nuclear weapons under the NATO nuclear sharing program were stationed at Kleine Brogel have never been officially confirmed, but are now known to be true. A cable from the American Embassy in Brussels from Nov. Peer has in the quite a nice temperature. In the winter it normally snows, media related to Peer, Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
11.
52nd Fighter Wing
–
The 52d Fighter Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It was activated in 1948, but derives significant elements of its history from the predecessor Second World War 52d Fighter Group, 52d Fighter Wing is the official military nomenclature of the unit and it is commonly referred to as the 52nd Fighter Wing. It is often interchanged within military writing and speech, either way, - Reserves numbers 101 through 299 for Air National Guard units giving position for the unit numbering. The 52 FW maintains, deploys and employs F-16CJ and A/OA-10 aircraft and TPS-75 radar systems in support of NATO, the wing also supports contingencies and operations other than war as required. The wing conducts operations at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, one of 16 major operating locations in USAFE, the wing is authorized for about 5,560 active-duty members and about 210 Department of Defense civilians. The wing is organized with four groups responsible for operations, maintenance, mission support and medical operations, in concert with USAFE wings at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the 52d Fighter Wing directly supports the strategic mobility mission once conducted at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany. The wing provides support for C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy aircraft, crew, passengers and cargo to sustain air mobility operations throughout Europe, Africa. The 52nd was reactivated on 18 August 1955 and designated 52d Fighter Group and it was assigned to Air Defense Command and equipped with F-86 Sabre aircraft. It served once more as an air unit in the northeastern United States. In December 1971, it became the host wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, the wing participated in numerous tactical exercises, operations, and tests of USAFE and NATO and provided close air support, interdiction, and base defense operations. It cooperated with other NATO forces in frequent squadron exchange programs, in January 1973, a Wild Weasel defense suppression mission was added. After October 1985, using the F-4 Phantom II model aircraft, in 1987, the 52d acquired F-16 Falcons and became the first wing to integrate F-16Cs with F-4Gs to form hunter/killer teams within individual fighter squadrons. It deployed aircraft and personnel to locations in Saudi Arabia. Near the end of 1992, it began receiving A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and it received F-15 Eagles in 1994 but lost its F-4Gs. In January and December 1999, the wing supported Operations Northern Watch, Allied Force, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in the United States on September 11,2001, the 52d Fighter Wing began preparations for possible combat tasking. Within one month the wing had deployed people and equipment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in, the 22d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron began flying operations at a deployed location in support of the war on terrorism within 100 hours of tasking notification. Personnel assigned to the 52d FW continue to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom today, in April 2010 the wings strength was reduced by one third. Twenty F-16Cs were flown to the 148th Fighter Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, one F-16 was transferred to Edwards Air Force Base, all aircraft were from the 22nd Fighter Squadron
12.
United States Air Force
–
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
13.
Tactical nuclear weapon
–
Tactical nuclear weapons were a large part of the peak nuclear weapons stockpile levels during the Cold War. Tactical nuclear weapons include gravity bombs, short-range missiles, artillery shells, land mines, depth charges, also in this category are nuclear armed ground-based or shipborne surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles. In wartime, such explosives could be used for demolishing choke-points to enemy offensives, such as at tunnels, narrow mountain passes, there is no precise definition of the tactical category, neither considering range nor yield of the nuclear weapon. Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens of kilotons, or potentially hundreds, several times that of the used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. Use of tactical nuclear weapons against similarly-armed opponents carries a significant danger of escalating the conflict beyond anticipated boundaries. For example, firing a nuclear artillery shell similar to the W48 at the enemy invites retaliation. It may provoke the enemy into responding with several artillery shells similar to the W79. By using tactical nuclear weapons there is a risk of escalating the conflict until it reaches a tipping point which provokes the use of strategic nuclear weapons such as ICBMs. Additionally, the nuclear weapons most likely to be used first have usually been under less stringent political control at times of military combat crises than strategic weapons. Early Permissive Action Links could be as simple as a combination lock. For these reasons, stockpiles of nuclear warheads in most countries arsenals have been dramatically reduced c. 2010, and the smallest types have been completely eliminated, some variable yield nuclear warheads such as the B61 nuclear bomb have been produced in both tactical and strategic versions. This concept was formalized when Putin took power in Russia in the following year, ten NATO member countries have advanced a confidence-building plan for NATO and Russia that could lead to treaties to reduce the tactical nuclear weapons in Europe
14.
Nuclear sharing
–
In case of war, the United States told NATO allies the Non-Proliferation Treaty would no longer be controlling. Of the three powers in NATO, only the United States is known to have provided weapons for nuclear sharing. As of November 2009, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, canada hosted weapons under the control of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, rather than NATO, until 1984, having left the NATO program in 1972 and Greece until 2001. In case of war, the weapons are to be mounted on the participating countries warplanes, the weapons are under custody and control of USAF Munitions Support Squadrons co-located on NATO main operating bases who work together with the host nation forces. As of 2005,180 tactical B61 nuclear bombs of the 480 U. S. nuclear weapons believed to be deployed in Europe fall under the nuclear sharing arrangement. The weapons are stored within a vault in hardened aircraft shelters, using the USAF WS3 Weapon Storage, the delivery warplanes used are F-16s and Panavia Tornados. Historically, the nuclear weapon delivery systems were not restricted to bombs. Greece used Nike-Hercules Missiles as well as A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft, pGM-19 Jupiter medium range ballistic missiles were shared with Italian air force units and Turkish units with U. S. dual key systems to enable the warheads. PGM-17 Thor intermediate range missiles were forward deployed to the UK with RAF crews. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the weapon types shared within NATO were reduced to tactical nuclear bombs deployed by Dual-Capable Aircraft. The only German nuclear base is located in Büchel Air Base, the base has 11 Protective Aircraft Shelters equipped with WS3 Vaults for storage of nuclear weapons. There are 20 B61 nuclear bombs stored on the base for delivery by German PA-200 Tornado IDS bombers of the JaBoG33 squadron. By 2015 Germanys Tornado IDS aircraft were due to be retired, in Italy around 40 B61 nuclear bombs are stored in Ghedi Air Base. They can be delivered by the Panavia Tornado IDS bombers of the 6th wing, the former Italian President Francesco Cossiga acknowledged the presence of U. S. nuclear weapons in Italy, and speculated about the possible presence of British and French nuclear weapons. On 10 June 2013, former Dutch prime minister Ruud Lubbers confirmed the existence of 22 shared nuclear bombs at Volkel Air Base, due to increasing risks some suggest moving nuclear weapons out of Turkey. A Western official told The Times that Riyadh could have the nuclear warheads in a matter of days of approaching Islamabad, naeem also said that the Saudi leadership considered Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to be one country. Any threats to Saudi Arabia is also a threat to Pakistan, other vendors were also likely to enter into a bidding war if Riyadh indicated that it was seeking nuclear warheads. Both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have denied the existence of any such agreement, in November 2013, a variety of sources told BBC Newsnight that Saudi Arabia had invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects and believes it could obtain nuclear bombs at will
15.
31st Squadron (Belgium)
–
The 31st Tiger Squadron is a fighter squadron in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. It is part of the 10th Tactical Wing and operates F-16 Fighting Falcons. They use a tiger as emblem, the squadron became a member of the NATO Tiger Association and attended the 2nd Tiger Meet in 1962. They then hosted the following event at their home airbase of Kleine Brogel Air Base in 1963. They remain one of the associations longest-standing members
16.
349th Squadron (Belgium)
–
349th Squadron is one of the traditional fighter squadrons in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Considered a honorary squadron, it retained its name and numbering and has been flying in Belgian colors ever since. Today, it is part of the 10th Tactical Wing and operates F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Kleine Brogel airfield, No 349 Squadron was formed as a Royal Air Force squadron by Belgian personal at RAF Ikeja, Nigeria on 10 November 1942. The squadron was equipped with the Curtiss Tomahawk for local defence duties, the pilots were used for ferrying aircraft to the Middle East instead. The squadron was disbanded in May 1943 and the transferred to the UK. On 5 June 1943 the Squadron was reformed at RAF Station Wittering with the Supermarine Spitfire V, the Squadron moved to southern England to operate over France on bomber escorts and low-level sweeps. In early 1944 it began to train as a fighter-bomber unit, during the invasion of Normandy it carried out beachhead patrols and then were used as bomber escorts. In August 1944 the squadron moved to France in the role, it carried out armed reconnaissance behind enemy positions. In February 1945 the Squadron returned to England to convert to the Hawker Tempest and this did not go well, conversion was stopped in April, and the Squadron re-gained Spitfire IXs operating from the Netherlands. It moved to Belgium and was disbanded as an RAF Squadron on 24 October 1946 on transfer to the Belgian Air Force, in 1946, the unit became integrated into the Belgian Air Force. From 1998, the unit was commanded by the future Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne, from 1957 to 1964, the squadron flew the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck aircraft. In 1999, the participated in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. In 2005 and 2008 it was deployed to Kabul as part of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, in 2011, it was part of Operation Unified Protector during the Libyan civil war. 349 Squadron History at raf. mod. uk History of No. s 330–352 Squadrons at RAF Web
.png)
Belgium
Belgian Air Component