MILAN — After facing delays, the first F-35A aircraft is expected to arrive in Belgium in the coming months as part of a total order of 34 fighter jets, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
In 2018, Belgium selected the American jet and agreed to a €3.6 billion ($4.1 billion) deal for over two dozen of them to be manufactured in the United States.
“Belgium’s first F-35 to arrive in country has rolled off the production line and is gearing up for arrival in Belgium this fall,” Lockheed Martin Europe wrote in a social media post on their X platform.
Deliveries were initially slated to begin in late 2023, but due to delays in the production of the Joint Strike Fighter program, they were pushed back.
In an interview in February with Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Chief of Staff of the Belgian Air Force Gen. Frederik Vansina said the F-35 setbacks also affected the first transfer of the 30 decommissioned F-16s bound for Ukraine.
The Belgian F-16s, which have been flying for over 30 years, are intended to be phased out by late 2028 to allow for the delivery of the aging aircraft to Ukraine. The European country currently has over 50 F-16 jets in its arsenal.
According to reports from Belgian newspaper De Morgen, Brussels is assessing the possibility of ordering 21 additional F-35s, which, if realized, would bring its total fleet size to 55.
The Belgian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
Last month, the Belgian Minister of Defense and Foreign Trade Theo Francken said any potential follow-on F-35A purchases could be built in Europe at the final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Cameri, Italy.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
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