Belgium will deliver F-16s to Kiev this year

While it had previously passed on the hot potato, the De Croo government decided on Friday to deliver F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine this year.

At the launch of the F-16 coalition for Ukraine in 2023, Army Chief of Staff Michel Hofman and Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder (PS) announced that the Belgian army had no room to donate F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine . According to them, the army needed this to carry out its own missions.

That is why Belgian participation in the coalition was limited to assistance with the training of Ukrainian F-16 pilots. With experienced pilots having to switch from the familiar Russian MiG to the F-16, this can easily take six months.

The decision on the delivery of F-16s was passed on to the next government. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) said in October that Belgium will be able to supply F-16s from 2025, if the government gives the green light at that time. The first F-35s will be deployable from 2025, to replace the F-16s.

Nevertheless, the government decided on Friday, at one of the last councils of ministers before the June 9 elections, to deliver Belgian F-16s to Ukraine this year. How many aircraft will be delivered depends on Kiev’s demand and capacity. Belgium could supply four F-16s.

The federal decision fits in with Ukraine’s demand for more military support in the air and the decision of Western allies to provide additional resources.

In that context, it was difficult for De Croo, as the face of the Belgian presidency of the EU, to keep pushing things ahead. All the more so because the next government may still have to wait a while. Together with Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval (MR), he carried out the forcing and got Dedonder and the Greens to stop resisting.

With the Belgian commitment, Kiev will have several dozen F-16s at its disposal this year. Countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark previously decided to supply the fighter planes. The F-16s may not be deployed on Russian territory, but they must provide more support to Ukrainian ground forces and prevent the Russians from deploying fighter planes and helicopters themselves.

Another important file for De Croo is that of the Russian assets parked at the Brussels securities giant Euroclear. The Belgian government has been using the taxes that must be paid on this for some time to finance the war efforts for Ukraine. The European Union wants to finance military aid for Ukraine with the profits made on these assets.

Among the seven richest industrial countries, the G7, there are also plans to confiscate assets, but according to Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V), this is less obvious. ‘It is very important to inform colleagues worldwide of the risks of touching frozen assets. We must avoid exposing the Belgian taxpayer to risks,” Van Peteghem said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting of finance ministers in Washington.