Belgium’s Defence Minister, Theo Francken, recently concluded a four-day visit to Washington, D.C., where he met with Michael Williamson, President of Lockheed Martin International. Commenting on his discussions with the American defence giant, Francken wrote on social media: “We agreed to have production of Belgian F-35 fighter jets in Europe, at the production facility in Italy.” In another social media post, Belgium’s Defence Minister specified that this pertains to the “additional F-35 fighter jets”.
As reported by Defence Industry Europe, Francken had indicated in mid-April that Belgium was considering acquiring an additional batch of F-35A Lightning II aircraft, manufactured by American defence company Lockheed Martin. At that time, Francken noted that any newly ordered fighters could potentially be produced in Italy.
Great meeting with the international President of @LockheedMartin Michael Williamson and his staff.
The F35 program is a strong and effective multinational partnership.
We agreed to have production of Belgian F35 fighter jets in Europe, at the production facility in Italy.… pic.twitter.com/CwAGqenraC
— Theo Francken (@FranckenTheo) May 7, 2025
The only F-35 production facility in Europe is located in Cameri, Italy. Operated by Italy’s defence and aerospace giant Leonardo, in cooperation with Lockheed Martin, the facility was launched in 2014 and currently manufactures fighters for the Italian and Dutch air forces. In the near future, the Italian facility will also produce F-35 aircraft for Poland, Finland, and Switzerland.
However, the production capacity of the Cameri facility is limited. Official information indicates that it can produce only 15 F-35 fighters per year. As a result, if the new batch of aircraft for the Belgian Air Force is produced in Italy, the delivery timeline may be extended.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin is already producing fighters for Belgium under a contract signed in 2018. Belgium agreed to a €3.6 billion deal for a total of 34 F-35A fighters. The first jets have been officially delivered to the Belgian Air Force, although they are currently stationed at Luke Air Force Base in the United States, where Belgian pilots are undergoing training. According to the contract schedule, the first F-35 jet is expected to arrive in Belgium in late 2025.
In one of his social media posts following his Washington visit, Francken also mentioned that the F-35 fighters already ordered by Belgium are expected to be delivered “faster” than originally anticipated.
