WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Belgium will purchase 34 U.S.-made F-35 fighter planes, a decision that was welcomed by Washington and will strengthen transatlantic defense ties, said the U.S. State Department on Thursday.
Belgium's new purchase was expected to continue the "modern transatlantic defense partnership" following its buying F-16 jets years ago, said the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert in a statement.
Heather described Belgium's purchase of F-16s as a "cornerstone" for their partnership.
Belgian government announced on Thursday that it chose American company Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets over the Eurofighter Typhoon to replace its aging F-16s due to the price concerns, according to media reports.
The total price of the deal, including the planes, personnel training and others, was around 4 billion euros (4.55 billion U.S. dollars).
The decision will also make Belgium in line with several NATO members, including Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, which have chosen to upgrade their air forces with F-35s.
