Belgium plans to donate its entire fleet of F-16s to Ukraine by 2030, according to reports in local media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the European summit in Brussels on Thursday. Beforehand, he will first meet Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA), and then have lunch with King Philippe at the Royal Palace.
Based on well-informed sources, De Morgen reports that Zelensky is primarily seeking reassurance regarding the promised donation of Belgian F-16s.
This year, Belgium will hand over seven F-16s to Ukraine for the first time. These include four aircraft that are already being used to train Ukrainian aircraft maintenance engineers and are no longer airworthy. The other three aircraft are still operational.
Spare parts
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Belgium will deliver a further 20 or so F-16s in 2027 and 2028 – slightly fewer than promised by the previous Federal Government led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Anders).
However, Belgium intends to more than make up for this delay with a new commitment that the remainder of its own F-16 fleet will follow by 2030. The country's air force currently has 53 F-16s at its disposal, and is gradually making the transition to F-35s.
As the Federal Government has not yet taken a formal decision on the 23 additional aircraft, this is only a commitment for now.
Such a decision will likely not be made until 2028, when the Federal Government will have to give the green light for new military aid to Ukraine in 2029 and 2030. It is expected that Ukraine will use the donated Belgian F-16s primarily for spare parts.
