Almost all of the Dutch F-16s promised to Ukraine have already been delivered

Most of the 24 Netherlands’ F-16s that were promised to Ukraine are already in the country. “Almost all of them have been handed over,” the Minister of Defense, Ruben Brekelmans, said. He would not say the exact number of F-16s that are already in the country. The last of the planes will also be delivered “in the short term.”

Brekelmans visited the European F-16 Training Center at the Romanian airbase of Fetesti on Wednesday. This training center was established with the help of the Netherlands. Romanian and Ukrainian pilots use the center to train with F-16s that were made available by the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is also going to help with the foundation of a training center for F-16 maintenance staff. The first technicians will be trained in the summer at Fetesti, Brekelmans confirmed in a conversation by telephone. Hundreds of people will be trained at the center in the coming years.

Brekelmans said that more is needed after the F-16s are delivered. “Keeping them in the air is a huge logistical operation.” He added that well-trained personnel are a must for this. “They help keep the F-16s in the air and protect Ukraine in this way.”

Ukraine currently has mostly old Soviet aircraft in its air force. The country would like to join NATO, and for that to be possible, they need to set up an air force with Western aircraft. The maintenance staff is an important part of this. With this, Ukraine is making another important step towards a Western air force, Brekelmans said.

He also visited the airbase Câmpia Turzii, where two of the Netherlands’ unmanned airplanes (MQ-9 Reapers) are stationed to keep watch over the eastern flank of the NATO area. The Reapers also watch a part of Ukraine and the Black Sea, helping Ukraine with the defense of its country from Russian forces.