Belgium Cleared to Support F-16s for $127M

The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Belgium of F-16 Sustainment and related equipment for an estimated cost of $127 million.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

Belgium has requested to buy additional F-16 sustainment support that will be added to a previously implemented case. The original FMS case, valued at $98.4 million, included F-16 sustainment, consisting of AN/ARC-210 radios; classified software, Computer Program Identification Numbers (CPINs), and software integration support; Electronic Warfare (EW) database support; and related support and equipment.

The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin, Bethesda, MD.

The Belgian Air Force (BAF) was one of the first four international customers for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Belgium ordered a total of 160 F-16s in two batches during the Cold War era. Heavy attrition and restructuring of the armed forces reduced the operational inventory to 54 aircraft. The remaining aircraft have been stored or sold- 14 jets were sold to Jordan. Although the entire inventory consists of F-16A and F-16B models, all 54 remaining operational aircraft have been upgraded to MLU standard.