BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium said on Thursday it had chosen Lockheed Martin’s F-35A stealth jets over the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging F-16s in a 4 billion euro ($4.55 billion) deal, saying the decision came down to price.

After months of deliberation, the decision to buy 34 of the planes was announced at a government news conference.

Belgium joins a list of other European NATO allies, including Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, to take the American-made plane, which is also set to be the U.S. military’s main fighter aircraft for decades to come.

“We have landed! This government is investing heavily in defense. With the purchase of F-35A fighter planes … we ensure your safety and that of our military,” Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput said on Twitter during the news conference.

“The offer from the Americans was the best in all our seven evaluation criteria,” he later told reporters.

The jets, which can avoid detection and tracking by enemy radars or heat sensors, aim to offer NATO allies technological superiority with additional capabilities such as the ability to disrupt enemy communications networks and navigation signals.

The pick makes Belgium the 12th country to choose the F-35, which comes in three variants – the F-35A conventional take-off and landing model, the F-35B, a short take-off or vertical landing version, and the F-35C, used aboard aircraft carriers.

Belgium has chosen the conventional version of the plane, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2023.

Vice Admiral Mat Winter, U.S. F-35 program chief, said the decision would further strengthen ties between the United States and Belgium and make it easier for the two countries’ air forces to work together on future missions.

Reuters
Photo Rob Vogelaar