In two years, Belgium has not delivered any of the 30 promised F-16 fighters to Ukraine. How Brussels explains the delay

Two years ago, Belgium promised to transfer 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine, but so far none of these aircraft have entered service with the Ukrainian Air Force.

This is reported by the Belgian broadcaster VRT.

In May 2024, Belgian Foreign Minister Aja Labib reported that his country would deliver 30 F-16 fighters to Ukraine by 2028. The first aircraft were promised to be delivered by the end of 2024, but their exact number was not specified.

However, as of 2026, Ukraine has not received a single F-16 fighter jet from Belgium. The countryʼs Ministry of Defense, in response to a request from VRT, said that the main reason is the delay in the delivery of new F-35s to Belgium.

The American F-35 fighters, with which Belgium wants to replace its old aircraft, have not yet arrived. The Belgians will be able to transfer the F-16s to Ukraine only after the replacement, so the transfer is being postponed.

"From the very beginning, the Ministry of Defense stated that it was necessary to first meet the operational needs of the Belgian Air Force itself," said Major General Geert de Decker of the Belgian Air Force, adding that a fixed deadline for the transfer of the F-16s to Ukraine was never mentioned.

Belgium plans to decommission its entire F-16 fleet by the end of 2028. The last deliveries of the F-35 are expected in 2029.

Another important reason for the delay is the process of training the flight crew, VRT sources told. Although the planes themselves are not yet in Ukraine, some of them are actively used in Belgium to train Ukrainian pilots and technicians. However, as experts note, the training turned out to be much more complicated and longer than expected.

One obstacle was the language issue, as the F-16 cockpit requires fluent English, while most Ukrainian pilots had experience flying only Soviet aircraft. In addition, the tactics of using Western aircraft require adaptation to the realities of the war in Ukraine, where drones and powerful enemy air defense systems dominate.

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