The first five F-16 fighters for Ukraine were sent from the Netherlands.
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Currently, the F-16 fighters, which Western countries promised to transfer to Kyiv, are being transported to Romania, where Ukrainian pilots will undergo training. This was reported by a representative of the Dutch Ministry of Defense.
The training center where the Ukrainian military will train is due to open in the near future.
However, it is still unknown when exactly the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to use F-16 fighters in the combat zone. It is expected that pilot training will take at least six months.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Amsterdam has been actively supporting official Kyiv. The Netherlands has provided $2.5 billion. for Ukraine in 2023.
The country joined the supply of American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), and also pledged to transfer 42 F-16 fighters and train Ukrainian pilots to fly them.
In early November, the Pentagon announced that training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 would last 5-9 months.
Now we expect that completion of the exercise will depend on the individual skills of the pilots themselves, but we can estimate approximately five to nine months for them to complete this training, US defense spokesman General Patrick Ryder.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.