Belgian Armed Forces
| Belgian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Belgische Defensie (Dutch) La Défense belge (French) Belgische Streitkräfte (German) | |
Emblem of the Belgian Armed Forces | |
| Motto | Unity makes Strength Dutch: Eenheid is kracht French: L'union fait la Force German: Einigkeit macht stark |
| Founded | 1830 |
| Service branches |
|
| Headquarters | Evere |
| Leadership | |
| King | Philippe |
| Prime Minister | Bart De Wever |
| Minister of Defence | Theo Francken |
| Chief of Defence | General Frederik Vansina |
| Personnel | |
| Conscription | Suspended since 1992 |
| Active personnel | 26,389 military personnel (2025) |
| Reserve personnel | ~6,600 (2023) |
| Deployed personnel | less than 1,000 (2023) |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | 7 billion € (2024) |
| Percent of GDP | 1,24 % (2024) |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | FN Herstal |
| Foreign suppliers | |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Belgian military ranks |
The Belgian Armed Forces (Dutch: Defensie; French: La Défense, German: Die Streitkräfte) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830. Since then, the Belgian armed forces have fought in World War I, World War II, the Cold War (Korean War and the Belgian occupation of the Federal Republic of Germany), Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and Afghanistan. The Armed Forces comprise five branches: the Land Component, the Air Component, the Naval Component, the Medical Component and the Cyber Component.