The Belgian Defense Ministry has bought a stock of short-range Sea Sparrow missiles from Germany and plans to deliver more than half to Ukraine, the Belgian newspaper L'Echo reported on Sept. 4.
Belgium bought 14 of the radar-guided sea-to-air missiles that were used on a now-decommissioned German frigate for €7,000 ($7,600) per unit.
The Belgian government plans to donate eight of the U.S.-made weapons to Kyiv.
While the delivery represents a relatively light form of military aid, "it illustrates the complementary nature of Belgian support", according to L'Echo's sources in the Defense Ministry.
The missiles could be recycled into surface-to-air missiles or used to equip drones, L'Echo added.
In January, Politico reported that Sea Sparrows were to be included in a U.S. military aid package, and that the Ukrainian military had found a way to modify its Soviet-era BUK launchers to fire them.
Earlier in the summer, Belgium announced plans to send refurbished M113 armored vehicles to Ukraine, together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
All three countries are also part of a new international coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets announced at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.
Elsa Court
(Updated: )
