Belgium’s plan to purchase 34 fighter aircraft will cost nearly $16.4 billion which includes purchase and use for over forty years.

The whole ‘life-cycle cost’ (LCC) on an estimated life of about 40 years between commissioning and 2058 is about triple the purchase price, Colonel Harry Van Pee, officer-in-charge of the F-16 replacement program was quoted as saying by RTBF, Belgian news daily Wednesday.

Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 and Saab Gripen are expected to bid for the program.