In full European rearme, Belgium has just expanded his f-35 fighter request. The next step is much more ambitious

In full European rearme, not exempt from obstaclesBelgium will expand your request for F-35 With eleven new units. Thus adds to other allies such as the United Kingdom, who continue to bet on the American hunting Despite the problems that its deployment has raised. The current geopolitical context has once again placed aerial superiority in the center of the strategic board.

Belgium had already commissioned 34 F-35 in 2018 With a clear objective: replace its aging F-16 fleet, a hunt that has been in service decades. At that time, the Belgian government opted for the American model against other proposals such as the Eurofighteralleging interoperability reasons, costs throughout the life cycle and compatibility with NATO nuclear weapons.

Why the F-35 is the option that Belgium continues to see how more solid

To date, eight units have been delivered, All in US baseswhere they serve as a training platform for the first Belgian pilots. The new order will raise the total figure to 45, in a decision framed in the reinforcement of the military budget agreed by the current government, that has committed to achieve 2% of GDP in defense in 2025 and climb up to 2.5% in the following decade. The investment planned for this extension amounts to about 1.6 billion euros, According to the strategic vision document.

Although the F-16 have been updated over the years-and remain operational in several countries-it is a fourth generation platform, without furtive abilities and with less integrated sensors. They are versatile, reliable and relatively economic fighters, but belong to another era. In some scenarios, the technological difference with F-35 is abysmal. The new Lockheed Martin hunt offers a poaching, fusion of real -time sensors, advanced electronic warfacities and, above all, It is certified to carry American nuclear armament.

Beyond conventional combat, this renewal of the fleet has deep strategic implications. Belgium is one of the European countries that actively participates in the strategy of NATO nuclear deterrence. To fulfill that paper, you need compatible aircraft with nuclear pumps that it is believed that they are stored in the base of Kleine Brogel. The current F-16 are certified for that mission, and the F-35 not only inherits that function, but reinforces it with more stealthy and precise technology.

The delivery calendar also imposes its own limits. According to VRTthe Lockheed Martin production line is practically saturated, and the first additional fighters will not arrive until after 2033. The decision to expand the fleet, in that sense, is also a long -term commitment: future governments may resume the issue and add more units if the budgetary conditions allow it.

Apart from F-35, Belgium seeks to gain weight in the air defense of the continent. In parallel to this acquisition, he has reserved 300 million euros to fully integrate into the second phase of the FCAS, The New Generation European Hunting Program. The objective is to be at the table where the technological standards of the next decades are defined, without renouncing the US fleet. On the horizon, a future coexistence is even contemplated between the F-35 and the plane that emerges from the FCAS after 2040, if the staff and the budget allow it.

Images | US Air Force (1, 2, 3)

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