A recent Belgian Air Force event showed how 70mm rockets could be used to bring down enemy drones from the air—at a far lower cost than surface-to-air missiles.

Drones are the “hottest” new piece of military technology, presenting militaries around the world with significant headaches on how to deal with them.

As part of this counter-drone quest, the Belgian Air Force is experimenting with a new approach: pairing F-16 fighter jets with anti-drone rockets.  

Belgium’s F-16 Fighter Jets Are Preparing for Anti-Drone Warfare

In a recent exposition, the Belgian Air Force revealed an interesting solution to the drone issue. During the Belgian Air Force Days celebration at the end of June, the Belgian military revealed F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets equipped with 70mm anti-drone rocket pods. Pictures from the event showed the F-16 on display with three rocket pods of seven tubes each, for a total of 21 70mm anti-drone munitions.  

Though the Belgian Air Force did not specify which system was on display, it is likely the Thales Group’s Laser Guided Rocket FZ123 anti-drone 70mm rocket pod, designed to counter single unmanned aerial systems or drone swarms in ranges of up to 1.5 miles. The rockets can be fitted with laser guidance kits for precision strikes against single unmanned aerial systems or proximity airburst warheads to deal with drone swarms. It can also strike drones both in the air and at sea.  

The war in Ukraine has revolutionized the use of drones, and militaries and non-state groups around the world have adopted this new weapon system.  

Lately, there has been a gradual shift toward equipping legacy platforms with innovative weapon systems to deal with drones. Countering one-way attack unmanned aerial systems is not just about shooting them down, but also about doing so in a cost-effective way. Using air-to-air munitions costing hundreds of thousands of dollars against drones costing in the low thousands of dollars is incredibly inefficient. But solutions like the one experimented with by the Belgian Air Force make sense, and enable air forces to sustain operations for longer periods of time. 

The F-16 Fighting Falcon forms the backbone of NATO’s air superiority fleet, with hundreds of aircraft in service throughout the air forces of the transatlantic alliance.  

The F-16 Fighting Falcon Is Useful for Anti-Drone Missions

• Year Introduced: 1978 
• Number Built: ~4,600+ 
• Length: 49 ft 5 in (15.06 m) 
• Wingspan: 32 ft 8 in (9.96 m) 
• Weight (MTOW): ~42,300 lbs (19,187 kg) 
• Engines: 1x F100 or F110 turbofan (23,770 to 29,000 lbs thrust) 
• Top Speed: ~1,500 mph (Mach 2.0) 
• Range: Combat radius ~340–500 miles; operational range ~2,200 miles 
• Service Ceiling: ~50,000 ft (15,200 m) 
• Loadout: ~17,000 lbs payload of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions in nine external hardpoints 
• Aircrew: 1 (or 2 for B/D variants) 

Although it is a relatively old platform, the F-16 is particularly useful mainly due to its relatively low cost. A new F-16 costs approximately $70 million, which, although still pricey, is far cheaper than the F-15EX Eagle II (over $90 million) and the F-35 Lighting II (over $100 million, depending on the variant). The F-16 is also much cheaper to maintain, due to the large stocks of spare parts and low-friction supply chains built up over decades in service.

Air forces around the world continue to invest in the F-16 by buying or upgrading their fleets to the Block 70/72 “Viper” variant. 

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou  

Stavros Atlamazoglouis a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operationsand a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a JD from Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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