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Belgium considers additional F-35 order to boost fleet

24th April 2025 - 12:20 GMT | by Lucy Powell in London

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Belgium ordered 34 F-35A aircraft in 2018. (Photo: USAF / Tech. Sgt. Anthony Plyler)

The statement from Prime Minister Bart De Wever during a parliamentary session follows the country’s Easter Agreement which would see it increase defence spending to 2% of GDP by the end of 2025.

Belgium will procure more F-35 aircraft from Lockheed Martin, Prime Minister Bart De Wever disclosed during a parliamentary session on 23 April.

The decision by Belgium to purchase additional F-35 aircraft was already floated in April 2025, when Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken disclosed in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws that he had asked the Italian Defence ministry to produce any new F-35s procured by the country in Italy and not the US.

Belgium previously ordered 34 F-35 aircraft from Lockheed Martin in 2018 at a cost of €4 billion (US$4.5 billion) to replace its ageing F-16 fleet, which

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