For the sake of convenience, initial operations were carried out from Beauvechain air base, where assistance for the type conversion could be given by N☁ Wing. N☁0 Wing started its Starfighter era on June 1964, N° 31 Squadron reequipping first.
The control and daily management of the aircraft was the responsability of the Wing Maintenance Group. The aicraft remained assigned to squadrons until April 25th, 1966, when the Wing pooling was instated. Organisation wise, things were somewhat different for each Wing: N☁ Wing started receiving its Starfighters in April 1963, these reequipping 350 Squadron, 349 Squadron followed suit in October of that year. Originally deliveries planning was as follows:į-104G's FX-01 to FX-40 to N☁ Wing - F-104G's FX-41 to FX-80 to N☁0 Wing - F-104G's FX-81 to FX-100 held in storage as attrition replacement batch.
One aircraft crashed before being taken on charge by the Belgian Air Force, being later replaced by another similarly numbered machine (FX-47). The Starfighters were slated to replace Avro Canada CF-100 Mk.5 Canucks of N☁ All-Weather Fighter Wing at Beauvechain air base, then the Republic F-84F Thunderstreaks of N☁0 Fighter-Bomber Wing at Kleine Brogel air base.
Later the initial three TF-104F's were updated to the TF-104G standards. The initial three TF-104G were built at Lockheed Palmdale plant as TF-104F (no complicated electronic systems as in the TF-104G that was identical with the F-104G except for the missing gun, and some less fuel), the remaining nine two-seaters being assembled by SABCA from Lockheed CKD kits. With the exception of the very first ones, shipped as CKD kits to Belgium, all Belgian F-104G were built and assembled at SABCA Gosselies plant, alongside 88 others airframes for the Bundesluftwaffe or Federal German Air Force use. Of these, 28 F-104G's were MDAP-funded (FX-16 > FX-40 and FC-01 > FC-03), the remainder being paid for by the Belgian goverment. A total of 112 Starfighters were procured by the Belgian Air Force, this being split between 100 F-104G (serial FX-01 to FX-100) and 12 TF-104G trainers (serial FC-01 to FC-12). Single engine supersonic fighter/fighter bomberīelgium's selection of the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter was quite predictable following other Nato countries and particularly neighbour Netherlands adoption of the type.
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