The command of the army considers it unthinkable that the Belgian F-16 aircraft will reach Ukraine if they will no longer be used in Belgium, La Libre reports, citing Rador.

Belgium has already sent automatic weapons, Lynx armored vehicles and more than 200 Volvo trucks to Ukraine, as well as ammunition, fuel and medical equipment.

However, this does not mean that it will soon send old F-16s to Ukraine as soon as the first F-35s are delivered, said the chief of material resources of the army, Frederik Getink, in an interview with Der Standard.

“It’s not because we don’t want to, but when our planes are retired, they’re going to wear out. By then, these planes fly so many hours that their design simply wears out. We cannot send planes to Ukraine that we would no longer use.”

The argument that the Ukrainians themselves are unlikely to adhere to strict rules regarding the maximum number of flight hours, Getink believes, does not hold up.

“This is the same argument as for expired drugs. Do you still ship them to Africa? If you send an aircraft to Ukraine that is no longer safe, that you know has cracks in the body, you can put the pilot’s life at risk,” said Frederik Getink.