Belgium to order 11 additional F-35A fighter jets in 2026 with final assembly in Italy.

Belgium's Defence Minister Theo Francken confirmed during the Munich Security Conference that the country will order 11 additional F-35A fighter jets in 2026, expanding its fleet from 34 to 45 aircraft.

In an interview with Breaking Defense on February 13, 2026, Belgium's Defence Minister Theo Francken confirmed that Belgium intends to sign a contract this year with Lockheed Martin for 11 additional F-35A fighter jets, raising the total planned fleet to 45 units. The procurement builds on the 34 F-35As acquired through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales mechanism and incorporated into the government’s July 2025 strategic defence vision for 2026 to 2034. Belgian authorities are assessing final assembly at Cameri Air Base in Italy to increase European industrial participation and align with EU defence financing criteria.
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Within the global F-35 supply chain, Belgian companies supply structural components, titanium fittings, horizontal tail elements, fuselage longerons, engine components, and logistics software. (Picture source: Belgian Air Force)

Theo Francken stated that he hopes to sign the contract later in 2026 and stressed that the additional F-35s should be as European as possible. He pointed out that final assembly could take place at Cameri Air Base in Italy, where Italian and Dutch F-35s already undergo final assembly and check-out. The announcement follows the government’s approval of a new strategic defence vision in July 2025 that integrates the purchase of the 11 extra F-35s into the 2026-2034 planning cycle. Francken made these remarks during the Munich Security Conference, where he also met Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet to discuss the program’s next phase. Belgium’s history with the F-35 stems from the 2018 selection of the F-35A over the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale under a seven-criterion evaluation, which included acquisition cost, operational performance, NATO interoperability, sustainment, logistics, strategic alignment, and industrial return.

The procurement contract for the initial 34 F-35s was signed in April 2020 through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism, with a value estimated between €3.6 billion and €4 billion, including support through 2030. Broader program expenditures, incorporating infrastructure, simulators, training, and long-term sustainment, have been assessed at up to €6.5 billion over the life cycle. The per-unit acquisition cost has been cited at roughly €76 million at the time of signature. NATO capability planning expects Belgium to field 55 deployable F-35A fighters to cover air policing, Baltic Air Policing rotations, expeditionary deployments, and nuclear-sharing commitments at Kleine Brogel, where 10 to 15 U.S. B61 nuclear bombs are stored, and long-term assessments have referenced a possible requirement of up to 69 aircraft to sustain availability cycles.

The first three Belgian F-35A fighter jets arrived at Florennes Air Base on October 13, 2025, following a transatlantic ferry flight from Fort Worth, Texas, that included multiple aerial refuelling operations supported by an Airbus A330. A fourth aircraft remained temporarily at Lajes Air Base in the Azores due to a technical uncertainty before subsequently joining the fleet on October 24, 2025, completing the first group of four home-based jets. Earlier in 2025, eight Belgian F-35As were stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for pilot conversion and advanced training under a joint syllabus with U.S. and partner nation personnel. Florennes has been designated as the first operational base for F-35, while Kleine Brogel will follow later in the decade as the second operating location. The arrival at Florennes coincided with the inauguration of new F-35 facilities, and Belgian technicians inspected the fighters after landing.

Belgium is investing €275 million in infrastructure upgrades at Florennes and Kleine Brogel to support the F-35 operations. The modernization includes new hangars, hardened aircraft shelters, maintenance facilities for six F-35s, sixteen covered aircraft stands, Quick Reaction Alert zones, mission planning centers, secure data link installations, advanced simulator buildings, and upgraded living quarters for pilots and technicians. Belgium currently operates 45 F-16s and plans to transfer 30 of the older F-16s to Ukraine starting in 2026, once sufficient F-35 operational readiness is achieved. The transition from F-16 to F-35 will last several years to maintain uninterrupted air policing and NATO commitments. Armed Forces General Harold Van Pee acknowledged there will be a gap of several years between F-16 retirement and full F-35 delivery, and indicated that expected deliveries of the additional 11 aircraft between 2029 and 2031 may prove optimistic.

Belgium’s F-35A fighter jets are being delivered with the Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) configuration, which increases processing power, display performance, and onboard memory to enable future Block 4 upgrades. The jet integrates the AN/APG-81 AESA radar, AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare suite, Electro-Optical Targeting System, and Distributed Aperture System into a fused tactical display architecture. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engine generating up to 43,000 pounds of thrust, the F-35A reaches Mach 1.6 and carries up to 2,600 kilograms of munitions internally in stealth configuration, with total external payload exceeding 8,100 kilograms when required. The combat radius exceeds 1,000 kilometers, and the aircraft is equipped for aerial refuelling. The F-35A will assume all the missions previously carried out by the F-16, including air superiority, strike, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and nuclear delivery under NATO arrangements.

Belgium has already secured weapons packages to equip the new F-35A fleet, including U.S. approval to acquire up to 320 AIM-9X Block II missiles, 258 AIM-9X Block II+ missiles, 50 Block II tactical guidance units, and 30 Block II+ guidance units, alongside containers, software, and engineering support. Although the notified ceiling reached $567.8 million, the confirmed contract value stands at €280 million. The weapons will be supplied by RTX Corporation, and the FMS includes temporary deployment of U.S. personnel in Belgium for technical oversight. Additional munitions for the F-35 include the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb and the Joint Strike Missile, marking Belgium’s first acquisition of cruise missiles. Belgium also purchased $115 million worth of GBU-53/B bombs for the future fleet, reinforcing the Ammunition Readiness Plan 2025.

Industrial participation remains a central issue in Belgium’s F-35 program evolution. Belgian companies, including SABCA, Asco Industries, Sonaca, and ILIAS Solutions, supply structural components, titanium fittings, horizontal tail elements, fuselage longerons, and logistics software within the global F-35 supply chain, while BMT Aerospace and Safran Aero Boosters signed agreements with Pratt & Whitney to produce engine components. By 2022, €700 million in contracts had materialized for Belgian industry, compared with earlier projections of €3.6 to €4 billion, and a revised 2024 agreement projects €66 million annually over 40 years, totaling €2.7 billion, compared with an estimated €12.4 billion lifetime fleet cost.

European firms collectively produce close to 30 percent of the F-35 components, including Leonardo’s wing production and assembly at Cameri, Rheinmetall and Northrop Grumman’s €200 million fuselage line in Germany, and contributions from Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Moreover, Belgium’s proposal to assemble the additional 11 F-35As at Cameri is intended to qualify them as European-produced under EU borrowing rules, though authorities are reviewing whether Italy-assembled F-35s meet EU criteria, a factor that could influence defence financing as Belgium increases spending toward and potentially beyond the 2 percent of GDP NATO benchmark.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.