Belgium is considering supplying Ukraine with F-16s

21 September, 2023 Belgian F-16 multirole fighter. Photo credits: Belgian Air Force/Bart Posselle Belgium is considering supplying Ukraine with its F-16 fighter jets.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced this on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. "We have requested the Ministry of Defense to examine whether our aircraft have reached the end of their service life," De Croo said. According to De Croo, the question now is to what extent these fighter jets could still serve Ukraine.

"We must consider all options. If they are still usable in some way, we should definitely consider it," the Head of the Belgian government stated.

Alexander De Croo. Photo credits: Media of Belgium

He explained that the aircraft does not necessarily need to be used for combat missions.

"It might happen that Ukraine will use Belgian fighter jets only for training. Then, the requirements will be different," de Croo said. David Clarinval, Deputy Prime Minister of the Belgian government, noted earlier in an interview with RTL that next year, Belgium could theoretically provide Ukraine with 2 to 4 F-16 fighter jets.

VRT News sources confirmed the possibility that Belgium might supply Ukraine with F-16s. The Belgian Air Force has 45 F-16 fighter jets. Over the next 5 to 6 years, all of them will reach the end of their service life.

Starting next year, the Belgian Air Force will start receiving 4 to 5 new F-35 fighter jets per year, which will gradually replace the F-16.

A Belgian F-16 multirole fighter jet. Photo credits: Belgian Air Force

The decision was made in 2018. On September 15, the Belgian government approved the country's participation in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets as part of the Aviation Coalition.

As previously reported, training of Ukrainian military pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States will start in the near future.