September18, 2008:  Jordan has begun receiving 14 used F-16s from Belgium. It had earlier obtained eight used F-16s from the Netherlands and 36 from the United States. Jordan began looking for something to replace its aging F-5s (of which 41 remain in Jordanian service) in the 1990s, and hopes to eventually have 60-70 F-16s and no F-5s (which are a 1960s design.) Belgium sold its surplus F-16s to Jordan for about $6.5 million each. The U.S. sold Jordan F-16s for practically nothing.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the Cold War ended, European nations began shrinking their armed forces. That put hundreds of modern tanks (mostly German Leopards) and aircraft (mostly U.S. F-16s) on the second hand market. These were sold at 50-90 percent discounts (off the original prices.)