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Protest in Brussels against purchase of new fighter jets
An estimated 1,500 anti-war activists on Sunday marched through Brussels to protest against the government purchase of new fighter aircraft for the Belgian army. The new F35 fighter jets are to replace the F-16s currently in use. The purchase would cost about €15 billion, which the protesters find “irresponsible” at a time when the government is implementing austerity measures, report various Belgian media.
"We think that these billions would be better off spent on conflict prevention and diplomacy, social, environmental and public investments," says Ludo De Brabander of NGO Vrede (Peace).
"Belgium urgently needs investment in jobs, education and climate measures. Investing in social cohesion is also also the best tool for the fight against terrorism," he says.
Comments
What a waste of the taxpayers money.
It's not so much the purchase of new aircraft, it's THIS aircraft! The damn thing is a classic case of too big to fail even though it has clearly failed.
And vanity projects are alive and well in Europe. If one country has the F35, so must Belgium. The list of issues with this aircraft are just gigantic, including it being too expensive to fly and then that is when it's available to fly given it's non stop maintenance that means pilots will be using simulators while this thing sits in the hanger.
Seriously, if I had known about this protest, it might well have been the first I had attended in my whole life. What a shocking waste of money for an aircraft that that can be outrun in nearly every department by an F16.