The General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon is an American fourth-generation multirole fighter aircraft. In the late 1970s, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium began searching for a replacement for the F-104G Starfighter. An agreement was later signed between these countries and the United States for the production of the F-16A in Europe. Under this agreement, the main F-16 production plant was to be located in Belgium. Belgium's initial order was for 116 F-16s (96 single-seat F-16As and 20 two-seat F-16Bs). The first European F-16 assembly line opened at the Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA) plant in February 1978. On December 11, 1978, the first flight of a Belgian-built F-16A took place. Starting in September 1981, F-16A Block 1 and Block 5 fighters received new avionics, including the AN/APG-66 radar. They were subsequently upgraded to the F-16A Block 15 standard.

The Belgian F-16A was introduced in Update 2.37 "Seek & Destroy" as a part of the French air research tree. The Belgian F-16A is essentially fully equivalent to the American F-16A; it is a versatile, multi-role fighter capable of performing a wide range of combat missions. It excels in this regard thanks to its excellent dynamics, high top speed, impressive climb rate, and a decent payload. However, it has mediocre maneuverability at high speeds and is unable to engage in combat at medium range due to its lack of medium-range air-to-air missiles (SARH).