Uk, Netherlands To Cooperate On Procuring F-16 Fighter Jets For Ukrain…
Lt. Col. Joost Luijsterburg, Royal Netherlands Air Force detachment commander, Morris Air National Guard Base, Ariz., waits to taxi his aircraft at Naval Air Station Key West, Fla. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. George Keck)
The United Kingdom and the Netherlands are working on an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure American-made F-16 fighter jets, a spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on May 16.
According to a joint statement released following a meeting between Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Council of Europe Summit in Iceland, the two NATO allies are trying to procure fighter jets as well as training for Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
Ukraine, who has been demanding Western-made fighter jets for the last few months, welcomed the announcement from the British and Dutch leaders.
“We need F-16s, and I am grateful to our allies for their decision to work in this direction, including training our pilots,” said Andriy Yermak, head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yermak said Belgium, another NATO ally, in particular, had “confirmed its readiness to train” Ukrainian pilots on the fighter jet.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics, and now produced by Lockheed Martin.
Designed as an air superiority day fighter jet, the F-16 evolved into a successful all-weather multiroler with the capability to carry and deploy a wide range of precision-guided air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions.
The Royal Air Force does not operate F-16 fighter jets. However, both the Netherlands and Belgium possess dozens of F-16s.
Belgium was one of the earliest buyers of the F-16. Its aeronautical company, SABCA, was a primary producer of the fighter jet as part of the partnership. The country’s initial order included 116 F-16A/B aircraft in blocks 1, 5, 10, and 15. Delivery began in 1979, and was completed in 1985. A follow-on order for 44 F-16A/B-15OCU aircraft was completed in 1991. Many of the Belgian F-16s received the Mid-Life-Update (MLU) upgrade at SABCA.
The Netherlands, like Belgium, made substantial orders for the F-16, and built aircraft at the Fokker plant. Deliveries started in 1979 and ended in 1992. A total of 102 aircraft were initially ordered, but these were followed by substantial follow-on orders for a total of 111 additional aircraft. Fifty-two of these were F-16A/B-15OCU aircraft. These orders brought the total Dutch F-16A/B deliveries to 213. At least 108 of them received the MLU upgrade.
Today, 44 F-16s are in active service with the Belgian Air Component and at least 24 others are operating in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Both countries have been looking to sell their older fighter jets.
The supply of F-16 fighter jets would make up for some of the losses the Ukrainian Air Force has sustained since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine last year. However, the supply process could consume so much resources and take a lot of time, as Ukraine lacks the trained personnel and the infrastructure to operate the American fighter jet.
In addition, older versions of the F-16 are inferior to Russia’s most modern fighter jets, like the Su-30, Su-35 and the stealthy Su-57.
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