The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has bid farewell to its last F-16 fighters with a ceremonial flyover across Dutch cities. These aircraft, retired after 45 years of service, are now slated for transfer to Ukraine, as the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced.
Western allies decided to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters over a year and a half ago. Since then, Kyiv has received about a dozen aircraft. Meanwhile, according to President Zelenskyy, Russia is employing around 300 fighter jets against Ukraine.
The Dutch Air Force bid farewell to its last F-16s, now set to be transferred to Ukraine as they switch to F-35s.
14 F-16s are in Romania training Ukrainian pilots. Ukraine has received 10 jets so far, and the Netherlands, as part of the aviation coalition, promised a total of… https://t.co/uVe1Z0bfwZ
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) September 28, 2024
“The F-16 era has ended for our Air Force, but not for the F-16s themselves,” the Ministry stated. “Of the aircraft not previously sold or decommissioned, 14 of the promised 18 are now in Romania. Here, fighter pilots – both Romanian and Ukrainian – are being trained. The Netherlands is donating its last F-16s to Ukraine for their fight against Russian aggression.”
Ukraine displayed its first F-16 fighters during the Ukrainian Air Force Day celebrations on 4 August. In total, the Ukrainian Air Force will receive 24 F-16 fighters from the Netherlands as part of the international aviation coalition.
Read more:
- Politico: US considers sending medium-range missiles to Ukraine for F-16s
- Denmark to deliver batch of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine by end of 2024 – Defense Minister
- Ukrainian F-16 training underway in Romania