Does Belgium's small size hinder the use of new fighter jets? 0 14

Belgium has become the subject of jokes on the internet after several French media outlets reported that the country acquired a fleet of F-35 fighter jets that it will not be able to use due to its too small airspace.

Practically all articles are in the same vein. The media play on the friendly Franco-Belgian relations and poke fun at Belgium, whose government allocated €5.6 billion for the purchase of 34 American-made fighter jets in 2018.

However, according to French articles, there is one problem: being a small country, Belgium will not be able to conduct exercises with these fighter jets as it would affect civil aviation.

According to Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken, these jokes are inflating the issue out of nothing.

In a post on the X platform, he explained that Belgium's small airspace is not news and that to compensate for this, the country has been conducting air exercises both at home and abroad with other aircraft for many years.

In addition to planned exercises in Belgium, the minister reported that negotiations are underway with the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, and other countries to allow Belgian pilots to train in their airspace, and that ultimately, this is precisely what NATO is for.

He also assured that military exercises will not affect commercial flights and that there is enough room in Belgium's skies for both, despite a 700% increase in civil air traffic since 1980.

According to the European air traffic management organization Eurocontrol, the average total number of flights in Belgium and Luxembourg in 2025 is about 3,300 flights per day, with about 70% of the traffic being transit flights. The number of flights varies depending on the season.

The Cube, a fact-checking group from Euronews, also reached out to Senior Captain of the Belgian Air Force Virginie Flavinn, who confirmed much of what Francken said.

"Some exercises can still be conducted in Belgium," Flavinn wrote in an email. "However, for realistic and effective preparation to counter the most modern threats, access to more extensive airspace for exercises both in Belgium and abroad is necessary."

Flavinn noted that the need to conduct training outside the country is not a new requirement, but it is becoming increasingly relevant as Belgium's missions and adversaries' capabilities evolve.

"Current zones are already too small for some types of missions carried out by F-16 aircraft," Flavinn said. "As a result, complex exercises, along with the use of aviation simulators, will need to continue to be conducted abroad."

"The proposed solution is, more than ever, international cooperation," she added.

The Belgian Directorate General for Civil Aviation did not respond to our request for comment by the time of publication.

Belgium's size and its airspace are not the only things that French media mock when discussing the fighter jets.

Some publications reported that four F-35 fighter jets were supposed to be delivered to Belgium on October 13, but only three arrived. The fourth aircraft got stuck on the Portuguese island of Terceira due to a technical malfunction. A team of specialists from the manufacturer Lockheed Martin was sent to repair it.

Some French articles also reported on the alleged superiority of French Dassault Rafale fighters over the F-35, based on reports that two aircraft participated in a simulated air combat during NATO exercises in Finland last year, where the Rafale emerged victorious.

French supporters of the Rafale argue that it is more flexible and reliable, as well as having lower operating costs per hour. They also say that the Rafale provides France with greater strategic autonomy, as the country relies on a domestic manufacturer rather than foreign (especially American) suppliers.

However, Francken, a member of the conservative Flemish nationalist party N-VA, also dismissed these claims, stating in an interview with the Flemish news outlet De Morgen that the F-35 is "simply the best fighter."

Similarly, Joren Vermeersch, an advisor to the N-VA, recently stated in his article that the F-35 surpasses all other aircraft.

"At one factory, Lockheed Martin produces 15 F-35s per month. This is equivalent to the entire annual production of French Rafales," he said. "Moreover, from a technological standpoint, the F-35 has no equal."