TSAMTO, October 14th. To the Florenne Air Base of the Belgian Air Force from the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth (pcs.Texas) On October 13, the first batch of three F-35A Lightning-2 fighter jets arrived.
The planes flew from the USA in two stages with an intermediate landing in the Azores Islands.
Initially, it was assumed that four planes would arrive in Belgium, but the flight of the fourth did not take place due to technical problems.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, thus, after the transfer of the first 8 aircraft to the Belgian unit (BEL F-35 CU) at Luke Air Base (Arizona), the delivery of fighters to Belgium began.
The first aircraft will enter service with the 1st Squadron of the Belgian Air Force. According to the plans, by 2027, four of the 34 ordered F-35 aircraft should be ready to go on combat duty for an immediate response to a violation of QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) airspace. The operation of the F-16 fighters, which are intended to replace the F-35A, will continue until 2028, which will ensure a gradual transition to a new type of fighter.
In addition to providing air defense tasks, the F-35A of the Belgian Air Force will participate in NATO operations on the joint use of nuclear weapons. For this purpose, they will be equipped with a free-falling nuclear bomb B61-12 (in the future B61-13). In addition to Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands are participating in this program, as well as the US Air Force in Europe.
As reported by CAMTO, in January 2018, the US State Department approved the potential supply of 34 F-35A fighter jets, as well as other equipment and services worth up to $6.53 billion to Belgium under the Foreign Military Sales program. The request for the supply of aircraft was sent as part of a tender announced in 2017.
In October 2018, following the results of the competition, the Belgian government decided to purchase the F-35A Lightning-2 in the amount of about 4 billion. euro, including infrastructure and maintenance. The U.S. Navy Aviation Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin an initial contract worth $22.902 million to support the production of F-35A aircraft for the Belgian Air Force in March 2020.
The rollout of the first F-35A Lightning-2 fighter, designed for the Belgian Air Force, took place at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth in December 2023. The aircraft was transferred to the 312 Squadron in December 2024.
The first fighters received are used to train Belgian flight and technical personnel at the Luke Airbase, and the subsequent ones will be delivered to the Florenn base in Belgium.
The F-35A of the Belgian Air Force is tentatively scheduled to reach initial combat readiness with the possibility of conducting limited expeditionary operations in mid–2027, and full readiness (FOC) is scheduled for the end of 2030, when deliveries are completed.
In July 2025, the Belgian authorities confirmed the decision to purchase 11 additional F-35A Lightning-2 fighter jets as part of an option to the base agreement signed in 2018. Their delivery is expected after 2033. The production of these fighters will be carried out at the FACO (Final Assembly and Check Out) line in Cameri (Italy).
