Belgium flap -> Home
Date: June 8, 2005
Hello.
First of all, and even if you have already to receive a number of it, I wanted to congratulate you for the rigor with which you pieced together all the elements presented on the subject.
However I also write to add a detail. It is perhaps not very important, but since I like the rigour, I had to let you know.
Your analysis of "transparency" of the case by the Belgian government with the public, is not rigorously exact. In fact, before having a number of people of the public take part in the investigation, the Minister for Belgian Defense shamelessly tried to fool everyone!!!
I clearly remember him, speaking on the TV news while insisting on the fact that the sightings were only tests of the F-117 carried out by the Americans.
It is only in facing the number of questions and as a exhibition of his "stupidity" that he finally retracted. Indeed, the observant pilots, inter alia, had already certified the spectacular character of these appearances... how could it have happened that the American armies test airplanes in the airspace of an allied country without having the authorization of its army!?
Either he retracted... or he would have continued to make a fool of himself...
It is only then that the US Air Force which officially contradicted this rumor, adding some nonsense in connection with a misunderstanding between their services and Belgium. In short, they saved the man's guts.
I would not allow myself to dwell too much on this, my memories not being completely exact. But I can clearly certify of the feeling (which we many have shared at the time) that the government tried to hide the truth. The "transparency" which followed was not honest in my opinion, it was only one attempt to save the appearance following the blunder by the Minister for Defense. Admittedly, it was beneficial from a global point of view, but it did not originally come from a good intention.
Yours,
A very satisfied reader.
Indeed the Ministry of the Defense seems to have mentioned the F-117 "explanation" which was totally unsuitable to explain the sightings. This explanation surfaced in the silliest manner. A writer in a foreign UFO fanzine had noted that the Belgian dark triangles looked a bit like the US F-117 jet fighter (actually they do not really look like it). This writer did not know of the particulars of the sightings in Belgium. But the Press and some ufologists particularly in France uncritically grabbed the "explanation" and the Minister may have simply grabbed it in the same ignorance of its inaccuracy. Later, another silly explanation was put forth, that of the infamous LoFlyte test bed. This new explanation was seemingly falsely attributed to the government. However, ultimately, it does seem that the effort towards transparency should be more credited to the Belgian Air Force than to the Belgium government, although the publication of reports was not so immediate and followed some pressure from one newspaper.
However, when SOBEPS asked the Belgium government for clarification on the F-117 theory, they received a fax issued by their Ministry of Defense in June 3, 1997, in which they finally clearly reject the F-117 explanation in the following paragraph:
b. F 117 A (STEALTH)
(1) The USA never asked for an authorization to perform experimental flights above Belgium.
(2) Such airplanes do not have the authorization to fly in the normal air traffic without being equipped with radar reflectors. They must be able to be observed by the radars, if not they would pose a potential danger to the air traffic.
(3) This type of plane flies at a conventional speed. To fly at the very low speeds as described in testimonies, they should have a system of self-sustentation (vectored thrust). In so far as we are well-informed, this is not the case. In any case, to remain motionless or to fly at very low speed, it is necessary to develop a thrust larger than the weight of the plane. With all the systems of propulsion currently known, this is impossible without generation of a very important noise.
(4) The American Embassy issued a press release to confirm that there were no F 117A flights above Belgium.
