The P-47 Thunderbolt became one of the most successful ground attack fighters of WWII. After the end of the war, surplus WWII aircraft were sold or given to allies in Latin America for thier support during WWII. The US preferred to supply the P-47 over the P-51 Mustang due to the fact that the P-47 was a better ground attack aircraft then the P-51, and it could take more punishment than the Mustang. Several Latin American countries took up the offer for the P-47 including Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador. Several other nations purchsed both aircraft including Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Bolivia operated the P-51 and one P-47 that was purchased sometime in 1949. Not much is known about this aircraft, there is even debate on the model. It is widely believed that was a TP-47D-2-RE, but other descriptions list it a a P-47D-22-RE (depicted here) and a P-47M. There is also debate on it's paint scheme. It is widely believed that it did stay in natural metal for a while, but painted in camoflauge later on. There also debate on if the cowl carried the sharksmouth ar not. It also appears that the aircraft rarely flown once it was delivered to Bolivia in 1949 for an amazing reason. According to a Bolivian Order of Battle statement released in 1955, "This F-47 has not flown since arriving at El Alto airport. A court case is pending involving its illegal sale to the FAB by an aircraft broker now living in Lima." The serial number appears to have been selected in random by the ground crew and it is believed that even though it didn't fly, the ground crew did keep it in flying condition. It is even more amazing that during the Bolivian Revolution in 1949-1952 and during the search for Che Guevara in 1966-1967, the aircraft apparently wasn't even used. In it's later years in Bolivia, the aircraft appeared to have fallen into disrepair. It was reportedly sold to the US in 1973 and became the warbird "Big Stud" for the airshow circuit in 1976. It is reportedly flying for the Museum of Flight in Mesa Arizona, registration N14519.

Belguim was one of the first international customers of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The first of 180 ordered was delivered in 1979, replacing the F-104 Starfighter. Eventually, seven squadrons were equiped with the F-16A blocks 1-15. Beginning in 1993, 90 Belgian Falcons were sent through the MLu (Mid-Life upgrade) program while the rest of the fleet were sent into storage. Currently, 72 F-16's serve in 4 active squadrons, along with a conversion unit. The fleet will be reduced to about 60 by 2015, but there is no current plans for replacing the F-16 fleet in the naer future. Belgian F-16's operated with NATO forces over Kosovo during Operation Allied Force in 1999, and have been rotated with NATO forces in Afghanistan.