The Air Force of Ukraine will receive all the F-16 multi-role fighters available in the Netherlands. These aircraft will be handed over after the training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians is completed.
Such an agreement was reached during the meeting of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.
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"Mark Rutte and I reached an agreement on the number of F-16s to be transferred to Ukraine – after our pilots and engineers have completed their training. 42 jets. And this is just the beginning," the official post of the Ukrainian president says.
The President of Ukraine with the Ukrainian delegation in the Netherlands at the military air base in Eindhoven / Photo credit: Office of the President of Ukraine
Given that the Netherlands has a total of 42 F-16 fighters, this means transferring all available aircraft. Even those that were previously contracted by the private company Draken International.
In turn, a note in the office of the President of Ukraine that "this is just the beginning " may well mean that the number of aircraft will be even greater. The second expected donor is Denmark, which, together with the Netherlands, also received the appropriate permission from the USA to re-export fighter jets to Ukraine.
If Denmark repeats the act of the Netherlands and reinforces Ukraine with all its F-16 aircraft, then Ukraine can receive an additional 44 fighters, although, according to Military Balance, only 30 of them are in flight condition.
At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the announcement of the readiness of the transfer of airraft does not mean that they will be transferred at once. In the end, there is a high probability that their transfer will be synchronized with the receipt by donor countries of 5th-generation F-35 fighters. After all, it is the transition to a new aircraft that allows these countries to strengthen Ukraine without losing their defense capabilities.
On the other hand, the acquisition of new aircraft by the Air Force of Ukraine depends entirely on the terms of training and the number of trained pilots and technicians who will master the new type of weapons.
But currently, according to unofficial information, it is about the beginning of the training of the first group, consisting of only six pilots, who should complete their training only by the beginning of the summer of 2024.
Defense Express reported, that Ukrainians Began Training on F-16 fighters. We also wrote, that Ukrainian Pilots Began "Familiarization Training" on Swedish JAS 39 Gripen Fighters too.
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