The United States has given the go-ahead for the delivery of Dutch F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the outgoing Dutch defence and foreign ministers confirmed on Friday, welcoming the decision.
“I welcome the US decision to clear the way for delivery of F-16 jets to Ukraine. It allows us to follow through on the training of Ukrainian pilots,” Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a message on X, formerly Twitter. “We remain in close contact with European partners to decide on the next steps.”
Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra also thanked his US counterpart Antony Blinken on X for the good and swift cooperation. He confirmed that discussions were continuing with European partners.
The Netherlands and Denmark have taken the lead in an 'F-16 coalition' that aims to deliver fighter-bombers of this type to Ukraine and to train personnel capable of operating these aircraft. F-16s are of American design, hence the need for agreement from Washington.
This coalition was formed on the sidelines of the last NATO summit, held in July in Vilnius, with the signing of a declaration of intent by 11 countries – including Belgium – aimed at eventually equipping the Ukrainian air force with aircraft capable of fighting the Russian invasion.
Several dozen pilots will be trained. Belgium has pledged to provide instructors and has also offered its industrial expertise in F-16 maintenance. Denmark has announced that it will make its Skrydstrup air base in the south of the country available.
The Netherlands, whose air force has begun its conversion to fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets, has at least eleven F-16s readily available, aircraft used for training purposes until last year in the United States.
Repatriated in three waves between late last year and early 2023, they were taken over by the aerospace company Sabena Engineering (formerly Sabca), which is “maintaining them in flying condition” at its factory in Charleroi-Gosselies.
Until July 2022, these planes were used for pilot training out of Tucson airport, in the US state of Arizona.
