Col Bart De Swaef

Tweeting in personal name. Staff officer at StratCom - Belgian Air Force

[Col Bart De Swaef @ColSwaef]

👇👇👇

[Harold Van Pee @HarryVanPee]

Je leest tegenwoordig wel eens dat je om een land als België te verdedigen tegen luchtdreigingen maar een twaalftal 'eenvoudige' gevechtsvliegtuigen nodig zou hebben.
Nonsens natuurlijk. Vanwaar komt dat dan?
Wel, enkele Oost-Europese landen hebben na hun toetreding tot NAVO lange tijd een luchtmacht gehad van inderdaad maar 12 tot 16 'eenvoudige' gevechtstoestellen.
Daarmee deden ze Peacetime Air Policing. Vredestijd luchtpolitie. Met de nadruk op vredestijd. Meer niet. Je moet ergens beginnen.
Met als enige verplichting om binnen de 15 minuten met 2 toestellen op te kunnen stijgen. Niet om het land te verdedigen maar om overtredingen vast te stellen. Vredestijd, nietwaar. De fameuze QRA of Quick Reaction Alert.
Waarom heb je voor zoiets eenvoudigs dan toch 12 tot 16 toestellen nodig? De meeste landen organiseren die QRA in shiften van 12 uur. Op weekbasis 14 shiften met telkens 2 piloten. Als iedere piloot 3 shiften per week doet (42-uren week met wat overlap bij begin/einde shift), dan heb je enkel daarvoor mathematisch al 9 tot 10 piloten nodig. Dat is zonder verloven, cursussen, stafwerk enz. Neem in de praktijk dus 12 tot 14 piloten. Maar je moet die piloten ook gevormd krijgen. Je hebt dus een opleidingseenheid nodig. Doe nog maar eens 4 instructeurs en 4 leerlingen. Minimaal 20 piloten in het totaal. Die moeten een minimum aantal uren vliegen om hun kwalificaties te halen en te behouden. Neem een absoluut minimum van 20x120 uur op jaarbasis. Om dat potentieel technisch te kunnen genereren heb je minimaal 12 vliegtuigen nodig. In de praktijk eerder 15.
En dan doe je dus enkel Peacetime Air Policing. Vredestijd politietaken in de lucht.
Luchtverdediging in tijden van crisis en oorlog is iets gans anders, met veel grotere behoeften.
Die Oost-Europese landen waarvan eerder sprake zijn daarom momenteel massaal (geavanceerde) gevechtsvliegtuigen aan het bijkopen.
Maar sommigen zijn blijkbaar blijven steken in die exclusieve Air Policing rationale van weleer en projecteren dat nu als de luchtverdedigingsbehoefte voor een grootschalig conflict.
Nogmaals, nonsens.

[Col Bart De Swaef @ColSwaef]

😡

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Breaking News: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy officers in a move that targeted women and minority officers. https://t.co/1vww7IxOf1

[De Telegraaf @telegraaf]

Valentijn Driessen snoeihard over dure tickets WK: 'Infantino wil gewoon zijn zakken vullen' https://t.co/BdKXyyi8yz

[L'Echo @lecho]

La Roumanie affirme que c'est un drone russe de type "Geran-2" qui a percuté un immeuble https://t.co/gAiOrBWTsU

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

In Kviv, units earn points for each Russian soldier they incapacitate or kill and each weapon, vehicle or piece of military equipment they destroy.

“The program’s philosophy is simple. ... The more you destroy, the more you receive,” an official said. https://t.co/3dkK8Bi1XV

[Col Bart De Swaef @ColSwaef]

#kanaal2 #vrt De plaat blijft hangen op kanaal 2. Al minstens 20' zelfde liedje

[Jens Franssen @JensFranssen]

Gent. 2 juni. Samen met @MichelleHaas_
Iedereen welkom.

[Bart 🌊⚓️ @BartGonnissen]

Nobody said that we should have a bigger navy than the US. That's just ridiculous. But we should have more and better than 2 old, geriatric Tripartite minehunters (we're in the process of getting new MCMV operational, but the first only beginning 2027). Our 2 frigates are 40(!)y old with hulls that are worn and equipment that is just as old. We have 2 (coming up to 3) CPVs for territorial and EEZ guarding. They don't even have sonar and are just asked with a .50. I have sailed on merchant ships going through the Red Sea armed better than that. We have a large merchant fleet, we have the 2nd largest port in Europe, 10th largest container port in the world, largest rolling material port in the world, 2nd largest petrochemical hub in the world, one of the largest LNG terminals in Europe, we're building the largest artifical energy hub at sea in our EEZ, our coast is situated at one of the busiest maritime chokepoints.... I guess we could write a strong worded letter, signed by past and present politicians.

[Fouad Gandoul @Fgandoul]

"Na extreme intimidatie van Gaza-activisten: kan Israël zich alles permitteren?"... Het antwoord is volmondig JA. Israël komt weg met alles zonder morele noch politieke consequenties. Het gewicht van het verleden wordt systematisch misbruikt om de meest gruwelijke, mensonterende situaties goed te praten. https://t.co/NR0vBsBKBb

[NBC News @NBCNews]

Long before an Assemblies of God pastor was convicted of rape, children told church leaders about hidden cameras, drugged drinks and abuse, a new lawsuit says. https://t.co/gsBAuKKsYi

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Breaking news: A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s human-smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego García, ruling that the Trump administration improperly brought it to punish him for successfully challenging his illegal deportation. https://t.co/GXAACv87eP

[Katrien D’Hert - Kat🇧🇪 @dhert_k]

RoRo Europe 2026 event te Zeebrugge - 21Mei26
Civ-Mil samenwerking en coördinatie in het MilMob domein is en blijft key!
Credit to Flows!
https://t.co/OhzsbthTNB

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

After spending more than a month in jail for posting an anti-Trump meme, Larry Bushart lost his postretirement job, missed his wedding anniversary and missed the birth of his grandchild, his lawyers said.

This week, he was awarded $835,000 in a settlement. https://t.co/GYKq4jgCeo

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

TRUMP: "We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz"

TRUMP MOMENTS LATER: "We want the Strait of Hormuz open"

[Maxime PREVOT @prevotmaxime]

🇮🇱 The images circulating of the treatment of the Flotilla activists are deeply disturbing. People held captive, bound, forced face down, and a government minister broadcasting their humiliation on social media. Belgian citizens are among those detained. This situation is unacceptable. It violates the most basic standards of human dignity. All detainees must be treated with dignity and released without delay.

I have asked that the Ambassador of Israel to Belgium be summoned to express our indignation and ask for explanations. I have also instructed our diplomats to secure consular access to our nationals as a matter of urgency. Their rights must be guaranteed.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic and demands the full attention of the international community. Belgium is and will remain active in raising this attention through every diplomatic channel.

@BelgiumMFA

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

russians just hit a 200 year old church in Kherson

DURING SERVICE.
ON PURPOSE.

This is the 'Christian Nation' russia pretends to be

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures across bases or sites used by the U.S. military since the war began, hitting hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, and key radar, communications and air defense equipment, according to a Post analysis of satellite imagery.

The amount of destruction is far larger than what has been acknowledged by the U.S. government or previously reported.

For this examination, The Post reviewed more than 100 high-resolution Iranian-released satellite images. The Post verified the authenticity of 109 of those images by comparing them with lower-resolution imagery from the European Union’s satellite system, Copernicus, as well as high-resolution images from Planet, a major U.S. commercial provider, when available.

A military spokesperson disputed the characterization of base damage by experts as extensive or evidence of failures, saying assessments of destruction are complex and can be misleading in some cases, but declined to provide specifics.

Read the full investigation: https://t.co/aDHdsXUVyq

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

NOTUS: Trump bought $500,000 to $1 million in Nvidia stock on Jan. 6, a week before his administration approved Nvidia chip sales to China, then another $1 million to $5 million on Feb. 10. a week before Nvidia announced a major computer processing power deal with Meta

The corruption is completely out in the open.

[CNN International @cnni]

Israel carries out strike targeting most senior Hamas military leader left in Gaza https://t.co/bMHjpC3p27

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Breaking News: Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in New York ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. It’s the second time a jury has not returned a verdict on that charge. https://t.co/Y9Ns18dML5