Lockheed Martin has reached an agreement with Belgium covering the NATO nation’s ongoing purchase of F-35A combat aircraft, with Brussels’ remaining examples to undergo final assembly in Europe.
“We agreed to have production of Belgian F-35 fighter jets at the production facility in Italy,” defence minister Theo Francken says in a 7 May post on X, referring to the final assembly and check-out line at Cameri air base.
The confirmation came following a meeting between Francken and Lockheed Martin International president Michael Williamson during a visit by the minister to the USA.
Francken – who had in mid-April outlined his desire to see Belgium’s remaining F-35s built and supported in Europe – describes the US-led programme as a “strong and effective multinational partnership”.
Lockheed declines to provide further details, deferring queries to the Belgian and US governments.
Aviation analytics company Cirium records Lockheed as having so far delivered eight of the fifth-generation fighters to the Belgian Air Component, from an eventual total of 34.
Final assembly work on its lead example of the conventional take-off and landing jet was completed in late 2023 at Lockheed’s Fort Worth site in Texas, with that jet having been flown for the first time in May 2024.
Belgium is acquiring the F-35 as a replacement for its aged fleet of around 50 operational Lockheed F-16A/Bs.
