The first delivery of F-16 fighter-bombers will not arrive in Ukraine by the end of the year, as the federal government had hoped. A lack of properly trained Ukrainian pilots and spare parts explains, among other things, this delay, indicated the Minister of Defense for Current Affairs, Ludivine Dedonder (PS).
Last May, a bilateral security agreement was signed between Belgium and Ukraine. One of its most salient points concerned the delivery of F-16s as part of the coalition set up by Denmark and the Netherlands.
The agreement mentioned the delivery of 30 aircraft to Ukraine by 2028.”Belgium will do everything possible (…) to speed up the first delivery [de chasseurs-bombardiers]if possible before the end of 2024“, we could also read.
This delivery was, however, conditional on maintaining “the operationality of air capacity” Belgian. In order to maintain this level of capacity, the F-16s will therefore only be delivered to Ukraine when the first F-35s arrive in Belgium, specifies the minister’s office. The latter, which must replace the F -16, however, are behind schedule.
The lack of spare parts for the Belgian F-16s still in service, as well as the training of an insufficient number of Ukrainian pilots, also play a role in the inability to deliver the F-16s to kyiv on time. announced, according to Ludivine Dedonder.
Belgium should, however, contribute to this training of Ukrainian pilots in 2025. Next year, a detachment of 55 Belgian personnel will be present for three months in Portugal in order to train Ukrainian soldiers in piloting fighter-bombers, announced Friday morning the minister, on the occasion of the presentation in Poland of Defense operations in 2025.
belgium F-16 ukraine war in ukraine
