Melsbroek Airbase Open Day 2023

Belgian Air Force A400M transport aircraft.

An Open Day was organized on the Pentacost weekend on 27 and 28 May 2023 at the Belgian airbase Melsbroek (ICAO code: EBMB) on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the 15th Wing, the transport unit of the Belgian Air Force. The Melsbroek military airbase is located on the northern side of Brussels Airport. Since 2021, the 15th Wing has exchanged the Lockheed C-130 Hercules for the Airbus A400M.

The static show showed a Luxembourg A400M, a Dutch C-130 Hercules, an MMU A330 MRTT tanker and a C-47 Dakota/Skytrain. More A400Ms were seen in the hangars, while other A400Ms were used for maiden flights and for an 'assault' demonstration. During this 'assault' demonstration, soldiers and two vehicles emerged from the A400M to carry out a ground attack in front of the public.

At the same time, the flight service of the Belgian federal police (DAFA) also had an Open Day because of it's 30th anniversary; this helicopter unit is also based at the military airbase of Melsbroek. Various helicopter demonstrations were shown, such as firefighting, Search-And-Rescue from a boat on a trailer, 'fastroping' in which police units leave the helicopter by rope and a dog demonstration in which the dog is put on the ground from the helicopter to catch a suspect. to keep.

On this sunny day, thousands of visitors visited Melsbroek Air Base to see the planes and helicopters in action.

Photos and text: Joris van Boven