From 1 to 31 October 2026, BAFARA stations put the Belgian Air Force anniversary on the air. Every contact with one of them counts: hunters earn the award on the contacts in the stations' logs, with nothing to send in; listeners (SWL) upload their listening reports on the SWL Hunter page.
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Based on the DX clusters (Spothole, HamQTH), updated every two minutes. A station that has not been spotted does not appear: spot the BAFARA stations you work!
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Transmitting callsign or listener number: the logbook, the QSL cards and the award all appear the same way.
The event
The Belgian Air Force was founded on 15 October 1946. For its eightieth anniversary, BAFARA — the Belgian Air Force Amateur Radio Association — pays tribute on the air from 1 to 31 October 2026.
The special callsign OR80AF, the air base stations and the stations of BAFARA members are active on all bands and in all modes. Every contact counts, and neither hunters nor listeners need to register.
What you receive
Every contact confirmed by the station's log earns an eQSL. The award comes in four grades inspired by pilot qualifications: Solo, Wingman, Leader and Instructor. Everything downloads as a PDF from your logbook, free of charge.
Click a side to enlarge it. Front photo © Shutterstock Inc. — Victor Maschek.
A paper card remains possible for collectors: request it through the Club Log OQRS once the event has started, and it is sent via the QSL bureau. No direct mail, nothing to pay, no stamps or dollars to enclose.
Why these aircraft
The aircraft shown on the eQSL and the award were not chosen for their silhouette alone. Each one marks an era or a mission of the Air Force: fighters, transport, reconnaissance, air defence, flight training, sea rescue and, today, drones. From the Spitfire of 1946 to the H145M helicopter received in June 2026, they tell eighty years of history.
The aircraft of the Belgian RAF squadrons, 349 and 350, during the war. It equipped the young Air Force from its creation in 1946: this is where it all begins.
Photo : Plt Off Glemser, RAF official photographer (IWM CL 1364) · Public domain
The "Flying Boxcar" of 15 Wing at Melsbroek, workhorse of Belgian air transport for twenty years, from the Congo to humanitarian missions.
Photo : Alan Wilson · CC BY-SA 2.0
The eyes of the Air Force at the height of the Cold War: the photo-reconnaissance aircraft of 42 Squadron.
Photo : Les Meloures · CC BY-SA 3.0
Not an aircraft but a surface-to-air missile. The Belgian NIKE units deployed in Germany held their place in NATO air defence throughout the Cold War.
Photo : Paul Hermans · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Starfighter took the Air Force into the Mach 2 era. It flew for twenty years from Beauvechain and Kleine-Brogel.
Photo : Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation · GFDL 1.2
The basic trainer. Generations of Belgian pilots made their first solo flight on it, the flight that gives its name to the award's first grade.
Photo : Alf van Beem · CC0
Fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft assembled in Belgium by SABCA, it served at Florennes and Bierset.
Photo : Rob Schleiffert · CC BY-SA 2.0
For nearly fifty years, the Hercules of 15 Wing carried Belgian aid all over the world: evacuations, humanitarian relief, support to operations.
Photo : Colin Cooke Photo · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Sea Kings of 40 Squadron at Koksijde: more than forty years of sea rescue over the North Sea.
Photo : Alf van Beem · CC0
The advanced trainer on which future fighter pilots learned their trade for forty years, fifteen of them at the Franco-Belgian school in Cazaux.
Photo : Chris Lofting · GFDL 1.2
Also assembled in Belgium, it has been at the heart of the Belgian fighter force for more than forty years: air policing, NATO missions and coalition deployments.
Photo : Adrian Pingstone · Public domain
The successor of the Hercules, operated together with Luxembourg within 15 Wing at Melsbroek.
Photo : © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The successor of the F-16, arrived at Florennes in October 2025: the Air Force enters a new generation.
Photo : GerardvdSchaaf · CC BY 4.0
The new-generation intelligence and surveillance drone, arrived at Florennes in 2025.
Photo : GerardvdSchaaf · CC BY 4.0
The light multi-role helicopter that arrived at Beauvechain in June 2026, right in the anniversary year.
Photo : Masterdeis · CC BY-SA 3.0
Year shown: entry into service with the Belgian Air Force.
Download the complete inventory since 1946Every aircraft operated by the Air Force and later the Air Component, with versions, service periods and sources · Excel file.
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