Belgian Defence Minister Philippe Goffin hopes a decision on the deployment of four Belgian F-16s will be taken before July, he told the House Defence Committee on Wednesday.
The F-16s would be deployed in Jordan for a year, starting in October, along with 95 soldiers, as part of the international operation "Inherent Resolve" to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The deployment would be the third of its kind for Belgium.
Four other soldiers would be based in Qatar in the American command centre. The cost of the operation is estimated at €24 million across 2020 and 2021.
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Three missions would be assigned to the F-16s, those being the protection of ground troops, reconnaissance and targeted attacks against ISIS.
Such a deployment involves extensive preparations, including transporting equipment by sea, which is scheduled for early August.
The Brussels Times
