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Belgian Air Force Days 2026 Highlights Fleet Transformation with F-35 Fighters and Support Aircraft.
Belgium is fielding a new generation of combat, transport, training and rotary-wing aircraft as the Air Force replaces legacy fleets with the F-35A, Cessna 408 SkyCourier, PC-7 MKX and H145M. The transition will reshape Belgian air operations through new fifth-generation combat, special operations support, pilot training and tactical mobility capabilities.
The Belgian Air Force Days at Florennes Air Base on June 27 and 28, 2026, highlighted the scale of Belgium’s ongoing aviation renewal, with several new aircraft presented during the service’s 80th anniversary. Belgium is expanding its planned F-35A fleet from 34 to 45 aircraft, introducing five Cessna 408 SkyCouriers for special operations support, acquiring 18 Pilatus PC-7 MKX trainers and bringing the Airbus H145M into service to replace ageing helicopter fleets. The SkyCourier program will add transport, airdrop, medical evacuation, ISR and potentially kinetic capabilities, with Initial Operational Capability planned from 2028, while the wider modernization effort is expected to progressively reshape Belgian military aviation through the end of the decade.
The Belgian programme entered a new phase on October 13, 2025, when the first three F-35As permanently based in Belgium landed at Florennes following the initial training period conducted in the United States (Picture source: Army Recognition)
One of the most unusual aircraft displayed at Florennes was the Cessna 408 SkyCourier, a platform originally developed for the civilian transport market but now selected by Belgium to provide a dedicated fixed-wing aviation capability for Special Operations Forces. Belgium has ordered five aircraft, becoming the first military customer for the SkyCourier and introducing a type intended to fill the gap between helicopters and larger tactical transport aircraft. The aircraft presented during the Belgian Air Force Days remained in a civilian configuration. The Belgian aircraft will subsequently undergo mission-specific modification and certification in Belgium, with Sabena Engineering responsible for integrating the systems required by the Belgian Defence. According to Sabena Engineering, the work will cover the integration and certification of equipment required to turn the commercial platform into a military mission aircraft.
Speaking to Army Recognition during the event, Yves Legrain, Business Development representative at Sabena Engineering, explained that the five SkyCouriers are intended specifically to support Belgian Special Forces. The planned mission set includes specialized transport and delivery missions, casualty evacuation, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance activities and, in later configurations, a kinetic capability. Belgium intends to introduce these capabilities progressively rather than attempting to field the complete mission system immediately. According to Legrain, the programme has been divided into four blocks, allowing Belgian Defence to train crews, develop operational procedures and progressively integrate increasingly complex mission equipment. Initial Operational Capability is planned from 2028, with the complete capability expected to follow later as the successive blocks are introduced.
The aircraft will be operated by the reactivated 23rd Squadron "Devils" at Beauvechain Air Base. The unit was formally re-established on July 1, 2026, 24 years after its dissolution, with support to Special Operations Forces becoming its new principal mission. Belgian Defence says the first SkyCouriers will be delivered to Belgian industry at the end of 2026 before conversion into mission aircraft, with the first completed aircraft scheduled to reach Defence in 2027. Operational capability will then be developed progressively from 2028.
The Cessna 408 is a high-wing twin-engine turboprop powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC engines. In its standard configuration, it can carry up to 19 passengers or approximately 2,722 kg of payload. The aircraft has a maximum operating altitude of 25,000 feet and was designed around relatively simple operation and the ability to use short or austere airstrips, characteristics particularly relevant to special operations deployments where access to established air bases cannot be guaranteed. Its large cargo compartment and rear cargo door provide additional flexibility for personnel, equipment and medical evacuation missions. The Belgian configuration is also expected to receive modifications facilitating airborne operations, including a dedicated door arrangement suitable for parachute operations. Rather than procuring a purpose-built military transport aircraft, Belgium is therefore adapting a comparatively economical civilian platform around a modular mission architecture that can evolve according to operational requirements.
At the opposite end of the combat aviation spectrum, the Belgian Air Force Days also highlighted the F-35A Lightning II, which is progressively taking over the missions performed for decades by the F-16.
Belgium originally selected the Lockheed Martin F-35A in October 2018 and ordered 34 aircraft to replace its F-16 fleet. The Belgian programme entered a new phase on October 13, 2025, when the first three F-35As permanently based in Belgium landed at Florennes following the initial training period conducted in the United States. Belgian pilots and technicians had previously begun converting to the aircraft at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The Belgian fleet is now planned to extend beyond the original 34 aircraft. Under the Strategic Vision Defence 2025, Brussels plans to acquire 11 additional F-35As, bringing the future fleet to 45 aircraft. The additional acquisition is intended to help Belgium meet NATO capability requirements while increasing the availability and operational depth of its combat aviation component.
Compared with the F-16, the F-35 introduces a fundamentally different approach to combat aviation. Its low-observable design reduces detection ranges against enemy radar systems, while its radar, electro-optical sensors, electronic warfare systems and communication equipment combine information through sensor fusion. Rather than operating solely as a fighter carrying its own weapons, the aircraft functions as an airborne sensor and information node capable of detecting, identifying and distributing targeting information to other aircraft and allied forces. This enables the F-35 to perform air defence, air policing, precision strike, intelligence collection and support to joint operations while operating as part of a wider NATO command and control network. Belgian Defence describes the aircraft as a fifth-generation combat system designed for coalition operations rather than simply as a direct replacement for the F-16.
The transition also requires a completely new maintenance and support infrastructure. Belgium is introducing specialized facilities, deployable support systems, digital maintenance procedures, training systems and logistics arrangements associated with the international F-35 programme. This broader support architecture is an important part of the transition, as aircraft availability increasingly depends on integrated diagnostics, software management and access to an international supply and maintenance network. The F-35 programme was not the only generational change visible at Florennes. Belgium is also preparing to retire the SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 after more than five decades of service in military pilot training.
The Cessna 408 SkyCourier, a platform originally developed for the civilian transport market but now selected by Belgium to provide a dedicated fixed-wing aviation capability for Special Operations Forces(Picture source: Army Recognition)
In November 2025, the Belgian government selected the Pilatus PC-7 MKX Training System to provide future basic military flight training. The programme covers 18 PC-7 MKX aircraft together with an integrated Ground-Based Training System and a 20-year training service arrangement. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027. The acquisition goes considerably further than replacing one trainer with another. Pilatus will provide simulators, computer-based training equipment, mission planning and debriefing systems as part of an integrated training architecture. New and upgraded infrastructure at Beauvechain will also be delivered with Belgian industrial participation, including Sabena Engineering.
The PC-7 MKX therefore reflects a wider change in pilot training philosophy. Future Belgian pilots will move through a combined live and synthetic training environment intended to prepare them for increasingly digital front-line aircraft such as the F-35A. The objective is to introduce advanced cockpit management, mission preparation and procedural training earlier in the syllabus while reducing the need to perform every training task in the air. Rotary-wing aviation is undergoing a similar renewal. The Airbus H145M was another important new Belgian aircraft represented during the event, only days after the Belgian Air Force officially presented the type at Beauvechain.
Belgium initially ordered 17 H145M helicopters through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency in 2024, comprising 15 aircraft for Defence and two for the Federal Police, together with options for three additional police helicopters. Those options have since been exercised, bringing the overall Belgian order to 20 H145Ms. Airbus delivered the first Belgian aircraft in June 2026.
Within Defence, the H145M will progressively replace the Agusta A109 fleet, which has been in Belgian service since the 1990s. Its arrival also forms part of a wider restructuring of Belgian tactical helicopter capabilities following the withdrawal of the NH90 TTH fleet. Belgian strategic planning calls for the NH90 TTH and A109 fleets to leave service as the new light utility helicopter capability is established. The H145M is designed as a modular military helicopter capable of rapidly changing configuration according to the mission. Belgian Defence plans to employ the type for tactical transport, medical evacuation, support to Special Operations Forces and other utility missions. Airbus also offers the H145M with mission equipment allowing it to perform armed reconnaissance or light attack tasks, including ballistic and guided weapons, although the exact configuration depends on national requirements.
Its five-bladed main rotor, compact dimensions and comparatively low logistical footprint make the H145M particularly suitable for operations from dispersed locations. The helicopter can transport small teams, insert or extract personnel, conduct casualty evacuation and support domestic security or crisis-response missions. For Belgium, these characteristics complement the fixed-wing SkyCourier: the H145M provides tactical vertical mobility while the Cessna offers greater range, payload efficiency and endurance when a suitable landing strip is available.
Taken together, the aircraft presented at Florennes illustrate a much broader transformation than a simple replacement of ageing platforms. Belgium is simultaneously renewing combat aviation with the F-35A, creating a new special operations fixed-wing capability around the Cessna 408 SkyCourier, restructuring light helicopter operations with the H145M and rebuilding basic pilot training around the PC-7 MKX and its associated synthetic training environment.
The Belgian Air Force Days 2026 therefore connected two distinct periods in the history of Belgian military aviation. The event commemorated an air force whose institutional history began in 1946 and whose operational heritage extends into the Second World War, while presenting aircraft designed around stealth, sensor fusion, modular mission systems and networked operations. Eighty years after its creation, the Belgian Air Force is entering one of the most extensive periods of fleet renewal in its history, with several of these new capabilities expected to mature operationally between 2027 and the end of the decade.
Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests lie in Security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.