Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has officially confirmed that Norway is planning to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with F-16 multirole fighter aircraft from its stocks.
During a press conference in Kyiv, Støre reminded the journalists of the fact Oslo earlier joined the list of countries who help Ukrainian pilots in training on F-16 and allocated two jets for that purpose.
Read more: The F-16 Delivery Rate to Ukraine Announced as Well As Whether the Country Will Have Swedish Gripen
The number of aircraft Ukraine is to get from Norway was not disclosed. Prime minister said this information would be revealed to the public later.
Experts asked by TV2 suggested a squadron could be handed over, or 12 aircraft in total. These fighters were supposed to be sold to a US private aircraft operator Draken International but the deal wasn't finalized.
A less positive estimate comes from NRK broadcaster: Ukraine could receive 5 to 10 F-16s depending on the operational state of the fighters in the storage. As a reminder, Norway decommissioned all its F-16s altogether last year, after the ceremonial last flight in January 2022.
Norwegian experts emphasize that their country showed utmost dedication in maintaining and modernizing its F-16 fleet while it was in service, so there is a high probability that Ukraine is getting the aircraft upgraded under the MLU – Mid-Life Update program.
Norway is the third country after the Netherlands and Denmark to officially commit to providing F-16 to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Read more: Arms for Ukrainian F-16: JASSM Missiles of 370 km Range in Priority – Forbes
