Deliveries of the first F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to the Belgian Air Force have been delayed by at least six months - the aircraft will arrive at the Luc base in 2024

A month and a half ago, Lockheed Martin began construction of the first F-35A Lightning II aircraft for the Belgian Air Force. As it turned out, the start of aircraft deliveries has been postponed for at least six months.

Here's What We Know

The first two fifth-generation aircraft will be ready in December 2023. However, software certification and handover to the customer will not take place until the second quarter of 2024.

The F-35A Lightning IIs will not leave Lockheed Martin's factory for Europe, but for the US Air Force's Luke Air Force Base, where Belgian pilots will be trained. Probably because of the delay in deliveries, the training schedule will have to be shifted too.

The problem lies in the Technology Refresh 3 software, due to which the US Department of Defence has stopped deliveries of the F-35 from July 2023. Lockheed Martin continues to deliver the F-35 TR-2, but has to send all completed TR-3 aircraft to a depot.

Belgium ordered 34 F-35A fighters in 2018 to replace 54 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. The defence ministry planned to phase out the F-16s from 2023 to 2030. Belgium wanted four fifth-generation fighters by mid-2024.

If the schedule does not shift much, deliveries of the F-35A to Belgium will start in 2025. The European country intends to establish one fighter squadron each at Florennes and Kleine-Brogel bases.

Source: The Aviationist