Kajsa Ollongren, the Defense Minister of the Netherlands, has announced that The Hague has plans to deliver the initial batch of F-16 fighters to Kiev by 2024. Additionally, the Netherlands aims to send 12 to 18 of these fighters to a training center, which will be under Romanian management, to train Ukrainian pilots.
"Five Dutch F-16s are heading today to the Fetesti Air Base in Romania. In the near future, a training center for F-16 operations will be established there to train pilots from both NATO member states and Ukraine," Ollongren wrote on the social media platform X.
Russia's Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin told Sputnik that the Dutch government is turning a blind eye to the fact that the delivery of its F-16 fighter jets to Kiev may prolong the conflict in Ukraine and cause further suffering to the Ukrainian people.
As mentioned earlier, NATO members are poised to provide Ukraine with a significant fleet of over 70 F-16 fighter jets. This action has led to extensive preparatory efforts within the Russian military. Moscow's armed forces have responded by bolstering their air defense capabilities, specifically by upgrading crucial systems like the S-300, S-400, and Buk missile systems. These enhancements aim to counter the threat posed by the NATO aircraft.
11 October 2023, 15:20 GMT
Currently, the United States and Denmark are actively involved in training Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16s. US Air Forces Europe Commander James B. Heckler underscored the complexity of this undertaking during a summer briefing, warning that it could take a significant period of "four or five years" to achieve a high level of proficiency among Ukrainian pilots in handling F-16 aircraft. He also noted that while these fighters are a valuable asset, they are not a panacea on the battlefield, emphasizing that they may not be the comprehensive solution that Kiev is seeking.