US-designed, but partly Belgian-manufactured. These things are always political/economic horsetrading, and as part of the deal, Belgium got one of the F-16 production lines placed in Charleroi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting...

Well, when the news is all about security and Chinese hacks and untrustworthy hardware I find it strange to rely 100% on foreign hardware for one's airforce.

Europe isn't an American colony. If anything it should be the other way round.

Considering how little the EU spends on the military compared to the US, it shouldn’t be surprising at all.

That's a strawman to the point...

any worse than the fact the many host the USAF at permanent bases?

the UK, Italy, Germany...all have permanent military bases for the USA...they're practically garrisoned

It is much more economical that US keeps doing what it does better.