F-16 for the Armed Forces of Ukraine: The Netherlands has sent the final batch
26 May 23:38
The last Dutch F-16 fighter jets destined for Ukraine have taken off from the Volkel airbase to Belgium, where they will be prepared for delivery. This is stated in a message on the website of the Dutch Ministry of Defense, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“This is a nostalgic moment because F-16s have been so important to our air force for decades. But now that we are saying goodbye after the transition to the F-35, I could not imagine a better destination than Ukraine. Because of the daily Russian airstrikes, the F-16 is vital to Ukraine. This allows them to deter Russian aggression for us as well,” said Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans at the delivery ceremony.
He added that he was impressed with the way the aircraft were handed over and put into operation.
“The Ukrainian Air Force was forced to quickly switch to F-16s. In peacetime, it takes years. Now it was done in record time. This is a great achievement of Ukrainian pilots and technicians,” the official said.
The Netherlands will also continue to provide a full support package to keep the F-16 in the air. This includes things like training, spare parts, ammunition and fuel.
In total, the Netherlands has delivered 24 fighter jets to Ukraine.
It should be noted that on April 13, Russia claimed to have shot down an F-16 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that on April 12, 26-year-old Ukrainian pilot Pavlo Ivanov was killed while flying an F-16 fighter jet, without giving details. According to BBC sources in the Ukrainian government, the fighter jet was probably shot down by a Russian missile. According to the outlet, the source said that the Russians fired three missiles at the plane in total.
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F-16 for Ukraine
The United States has led the Ukrainian Air Force Development Capability Coalition in operating F-16 multi-role fighters. The Netherlands and Denmark became co-chairs.
In August last year, Denmark and the Netherlands promised to provide Ukraine with 61 F-16 fighters. However, on August 20, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after talks with then-Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, said that Ukraine would receive a total of 42 American F-16s.
In order for the delivery to begin, it was necessary for Ukrainian pilots and maintenance personnel to be trained and for Ukraine to prepare the infrastructure. As reported by , in May 2024, the first group of Ukrainian pilots completed their F-16 training in the United States and headed to Europe.
Although the first aircraft arrived in August, things are not moving quickly. For example, Belgium plans to hand over most of the planes in 2025. Meanwhile, Ukraine has begun to lose even the units it has.
It is not known for certain how many F-16s are currently in service in Ukraine. In total, Ukraine has been promised more than a hundred F-16s, but at some point.
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