ts including
V/STOL transports or rocket engined fighters. Finally
the only project who led to a full production was the F104G Starfighter which was constructed by a consortium including Belgian, Dutch,
German and Italian companies under Lockheed leadership. The first Starfighter left the Belgian production line on 4th December 1961.
In 1960, SABCA studied a jet powered trainer, the S-60, who never left the drawing board.
The SABCA S60
In the Sixties, the SABCA ownership was acquired by Fokker and Dassault. SABCA
was more and more involved in multinational projects such as the Fokker F28 Fellowship or
the Breguet Atlantic. The company was also implicated in the production of Mirage 5 and F16 for the Belgian Air Force. Work
Ariane consortium started in 1973 and still consist an important activity for SABCA. In the seventies and eighties, SABCA participated in the
production of the Alphajet trainers and the Agusta A109 helicopter.
The Starfighter was a major program for the Belgian aircraft industry. A Belgian
Air Force Starfighter is seen in front of the SABCA plant at
SABCA is also a partner of Airbus Industrie since the early day of Europe's most
successful airliner. With the rapidly declining military budgets,
Ariane and Airbus are more and more important for the company. Ageing over
seventy, SABCA is one of the rare aircraft manufacturers still wearing its original name.
La Conquête de l’air
Rêves et obstination de l’industrie aéronautique belge Sabca 1920-1990
Last updated 06/11/11 15:56
by Daniel Brackx