BRUSSELS - Belgium's government has issued a Request for Government Proposal involving the acquisition of a new multi-role combat aircraft platform to replace the country's legacy fleet of F-16 fighters.
The F-16 replacement program was spelled out under the Belgian Ministry of Defense' latest long-term defense planning paper, the Strategic Plan 2030, unveiled in 2015. It calls for the purchase of 34 multirole combat aircraft to replace the Belgian Air Force's remaining 1980s-vintage fleet of nearly 50 F-16s. Belgium originally acquired 150 F-16s during the final decade of the Cold War-era.
On the recommendation of the Defense Ministry the government opted to move forward with the acquisition program with an announcement issued by the MoD on March 17. The goal for the Defense Ministry is to make a preferred selection in 2018, enabling Belgium to begin taking deliveries of the F-16 successor platform in 2022. Full operating capability would then be targeted for the new fleet by 2029. The F-16s, meanwhile, are to gradually be phased out of service over the course of 2023 through 2028 as their services lives retire.
Belgium seeks an intergovernmental (government-to-government) deal that would involve the supplying nation providing operational support for the new fighter jets out to 2030. The fighter alternatives being considered include two presented by the U.S. (Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet), France (Dassault Rafale), Sweden (Saab Gripen E) and the United Kingdom (Eurofighter Typhoon).
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