Theo Franken said that the aircraft could be transferred once Belgium receives the F-35s
News editor at LIGA.net
An F-16 jet (photo: EPA/Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich)
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Franken will propose that his government transfer all of the F-16 fighter jets in its possession to Ukraine—but only after receiving the F-35s. He made this statement before the start of the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, as reported by Ukrinform.
Why This Is Important. F-16 fighter jets play a crucial role in helping the Defense Forces both eliminate the enemy on the battlefield and defend Ukrainian airspace from airstrikes. To learn why these aircraft have remained relevant for 45 years, , read the article LIGA.net .
“This year, we will help them by providing seven F-16s. That is, there will be seven F-16s this year: four for spare parts, and three to fly in Ukrainian airspace to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression,” the minister said.
He considers the F-16s to be effective, including against cruise missiles and other airborne threats.
“I will propose that the government transfer all of our F-16s to Ukraine over the next few years. This depends on when we will have the F-35s, because, of course, we have DCA capabilities and play a role in NATO’s nuclear doctrine, so we need to receive the F-35s first before we can transfer the F-16s,” Franken added.
Statements by Western officials regarding the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine do not always translate into concrete action. For example, back in August 2023, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre announced the transfer of six F-16s to Ukraine. However, as of April of this year , none of these aircraft had been deployed in combat operations against Russia.
Ukraine officially received its first F-16 fighter jets in the summer of 2024. Their combat deployment was reported in early August.In late April 2026, the Ministry of Defense announced that Ukraine, with the support of its partners , had received its first mobile simulators for training F-16 fighter pilots. There are only a limited number of such simulators in the world.