Franken made his remarks during a European Policy Center (EPC) forum in Brussels.
According to him, Belgium continues to receive deliveries of F-35s on schedule, as part of a contract with the United States to modernize its air force. The first three fighters, he says, have already arrived. Now they must be adopted. When Belgium has the operational capability to make full use of the F-35, then it will be able to transfer its F-16s to Ukraine. In his opinion, this will take a year or a year and a half.
The minister called the F-35 deployment process “a very important phase” for the Belgian air force.
“This is a very important phase, I always explain this to the Ukrainians. As soon as we can, we will transfer. But do not forget that our country has DCA (Defensive Counter Air) capabilities and plays an important role in NATO's nuclear deterrence policy. This is the cornerstone of our doctrine,” Franken said.
Context
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation in February 2022, Ukraine has called on its allies to provide it with Western-style combat aircraft.
In 2023, a number of countries agreed to transfer F-16 fighters. The first batch of this Ukrainian aviation delivered at the end of July 2024. Fighters promised Ukraine Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. The exact number of F-16s being transferred was not announced.
