Netherlands likely to hand over F-16s to Ukraine, but no decision yet

The Netherlands is likely to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Defense Minister Kaisa Orongren said after the weekly ministerial meeting on Friday. The Netherlands has already committed to training Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft, but “then Ukraine will one day fly the F-16 as well. That would still require another decision.”

Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that the Netherlands would likely supply the aircraft.

The Netherlands is currently in the process of switching to the F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. The F-16 will eventually be available, O’Longgren said. However, she stressed that decisions need to be taken by cooperating countries.

The Netherlands is cooperating closely with Denmark, Belgium and the UK in this area. Norway, Poland and Portugal also joined the alliance.

Pilots will be trained first in Denmark, and possibly elsewhere later. The minister could not specify how many Dutch pilots will contribute to the training. It is also unclear how long the training will last.

“We’ll have to find out a bit together. Ukraine will definitely be able to send experienced pilots, but we’ll have to see what they can do.”