Belgium wants its future F-35A fighter jets to be assembled in Italy, not the US

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken announced plans to purchase additional F-35s, but his country wants them to be manufactured in Italy, not the United States.

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In general, Francken announced a large-scale increase in defence spending - by almost €4 billion annually. According to him, this will be the largest investment in the army in the last 40 years. The main goal is to reach spending of 2% of GDP by 2029 and 2.5% by 2034.

For comparison, in 2024, Belgium spent only 1.3% of GDP and was among eight NATO countries that did not meet the Alliance's defence budget requirements.

Francken stressed that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a reminder for Europe of a classic war of aggression that the continent had not seen since World War II. In this regard, Belgium is radically changing its defence strategy.

The key priority is the purchase of new F-35 fighter jets. At the same time, the minister wants new aircraft for the Belgian Air Force to be manufactured in Italy rather than in the United States, as usual. This would create jobs in Europe and open the way for Belgian companies to participate in the production chain.

Despite the absence of a detailed strategic plan, which is due to be adopted by 1 July, Francken has already outlined his priorities: strengthening air defence, purchasing drones, creating a second ground brigade, significantly replenishing ammunition stocks and building a contract army.

It is planned to spend 11 billion euros on ammunition alone, which is more than half of the additional funding. It is also planned to allocate part of the funds to incentivise military service and recruitment.

Source: HLN