One of the four F-35A fighter jets destined for Belgium was unable to complete its journey to the country due to a technical failure detected during a refueling stop in the Azores.
The aircraft, part of the first batch of F-35As acquired by the Belgian Air Force, had taken off from Fort Worth, Texas, where they are produced by Lockheed Martin. The jet with tail number FL011 remained on site after engineers identified a “technical uncertainty” in its flight systems.
The Belgian Ministry of Defense did not provide details of the issue but stated that the aircraft is expected to arrive soon to join the rest of the squadron. Similar incidents have occurred with other F-35 deliveries; for example, in August 2025, one of the four F-35Bs destined for Japan was also held in the United States for additional maintenance.
The arrival of the first F-35s at Florennes Air Base in Namur province on October 13, 2025, marked the beginning of Belgium’s transition to the new fifth-generation fighter. The older F-16s, being replaced, are expected to be transferred to Ukraine.
Source: Militarnyi | Photo: X @thef35 | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
