Belgian Firefighters Slam F-35 Purchase Amid Storm Crisis

Belgian firefighters have declared themselves “completely powerless” after severe storms overwhelmed emergency services across Wallonia, prompting their union to launch a blistering critique of the government’s multi-billion-euro F-35 fighter jet program. As the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM) downgraded its orange alert to yellow on Sunday morning, the scale of the crisis became clear: the Val de Sambre emergency zone alone still had over 300 pending missions after midnight.

A Night of Chaos

The storms that swept across Belgium on May 30-31 brought torrential rain, hailstones up to 5 centimeters in diameter, and widespread flooding. Roads were transformed into rivers, cars were trapped, and two people had to be rescued from a rooftop in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre. The “Napoléoniennes de Ligny” historical reenactment was evacuated and cancelled, while train services were disrupted between Châtelet and Tamines due to mudslides.

According to La Libre Belgique, Marc Gilbert, President of the Royal Federation of Belgian Firefighter Corps and Colonel of the Val de Sambre emergency zone, described the scene: “The IRM announced a code orange, but for us it was rather a code red. In some places, the water reached 1.20 meters high. I have rarely seen such violent precipitation in my 52-year career.”

The Volunteer System Under Strain

Belgium relies on 17,500 firefighters across 34 emergency zones, of whom 12,500 — 71 percent — are volunteers. The storm crisis exposed the fragility of this model. Gilbert managed to assemble over 60 firefighters but said at least 10 more were needed to meet the real needs of the terrain.

“Out of 17,500 firefighters in Belgium, 12,500 are volunteers,” Gilbert told 7sur7. “Last night, we saw the limits of this system. I recalled personnel to reinforce the numbers, but many were at the beach or registered for the 20km of Brussels.”

F-35 Spending Under Fire

The firefighters’ most pointed criticism was reserved for Belgium’s defense spending priorities. In October 2018, Belgium selected the F-35A Lightning II to replace its aging F-16 fleet, initially ordering 34 aircraft. The first jets arrived at Florennes Air Base in October 2025, and an additional 11 were later ordered, bringing the total to 45. The program’s total cost is estimated between €3.6 and €5.6 billion, with some sources citing up to €6 billion for the full lifecycle.

“Rather than buying F-35s, we should give emergency zones the resources they really need,” Gilbert said. “Billions are spent on Defense, while we firefighters are completely powerless, especially in the face of the scale of weather phenomena.”

The F-35 program, detailed by L’Avenir, has been controversial since its inception, with critics arguing the aircraft are extremely expensive to operate and maintain. Each hour of flight costs an estimated €30,000 to €40,000 — roughly double that of an F-16.

A Long-Standing Funding Crisis

The firefighters’ complaints are not new. The Royal Federation has repeatedly called for “human-sized” emergency zones with sufficient personnel, and Gilbert was already warning about a need for €260 million in refinancing as far back as 2012. The July 2021 Liège floods, which killed approximately 40 people, remain a traumatic precedent that underscores the stakes of underfunded emergency services.

Climate Change Intensifies the Pressure

Gilbert framed the crisis within the broader context of climate change. “With climate change, we will experience this kind of situation more and more often,” he warned. “It is more than time that the federal government realizes the problem.”

The May 2026 storms followed a “heat dome” event, a pattern consistent with climate change projections that predict more frequent and intense extreme weather in Belgium.

What’s Next

The immediate crisis has passed, but the political debate over budget priorities is likely to intensify. Belgium faces competing pressures: NATO commitments to increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP, a need to find €23 billion to eliminate the federal deficit, and now renewed calls to properly fund emergency services. The firefighters have a powerful emotional argument — images of overwhelmed emergency services during extreme weather are difficult to ignore. As Belgium weighs its spending priorities, the question of whether to invest in fighter jets or fire trucks has never been more sharply posed.