Ukraine has not received any F-16s from Belgium: Brussels says that no deadlines were set
In three years, Ukraine has not received any of the 30 F-16 fighter jets promised by Belgium. Brussels has stated that the delivery date for the aircraft had not been precisely confirmed.
According to Censor.NET, citing a link to RBC-Ukraine, this was reported by VRT.
There were no delivery dates.
It is noted that in the three years that Belgium has been part of the "fighter coalition" supplying F-16s to Ukraine, not a single Belgian aircraft has been transferred. Since 2023, deadlines have been constantly postponed and rescheduled, and the first Belgian F-16s should already be in Ukraine, but they are still not there.
The Belgian government claims that no delivery dates were ever set. They say that the issue was never even discussed, and that Ukraine, according to one of the senior commanders of the Belgian Air Force, allegedly even requested that the aircraft not be delivered because "there are no pilots."
What did they say before?
It should be noted that back in 2024, the then Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, stated that the first aircraft would be in Ukraine "by the end of the year." And these were to be the first of the 30 aircraft promised to Ukraine by the "coalition." However, since then, other countries have transferred fighter jets, but Belgium has not.
In addition, in May 2025, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken also said that the aircraft would be transferred to Ukraine "earlier than planned."
What is the reason?
The Belgian Ministry of Defense cited delays in the delivery of new aircraft from the US as the main reason why Ukraine has not yet received any Belgian F-16s.
Yes, the American F-35 fighter jets, which Belgium wants to replace its old aircraft with, have not yet arrived. The Belgians will only be able to transfer the F-16s after the replacement, meaning that the transfer is being postponed.
"From the outset, the Ministry of Defense stated that the operational needs of the Belgian Air Force itself must be met first. It has always been clear that our own operational readiness must be guaranteed," emphasized Major General Gert De Decker.
Belgium plans to decommission its entire fleet of F-16s by the end of 2028. Final completion of F-35 deliveries is expected no earlier than 2029.
At the same time, in October 2025, it was reported that Ukraine would receive additional F-16s from Belgium. The first fifth-generation F-35 fighters had already begun to arrive to replace these aircraft. It was assumed that the first F-16s would be sent to Ukraine in 2026.
