Denmark Says Six F-16 Fighters Already Delivered to Ukraine
19 November, 2024 A formation of F-16AM fighters of the Royal Danish Air Force. Photo from open sources Denmark has reinforced the Ukrainian Air Force with 6 F-16 multi-role fighters.
This was announced at a press conference in Kyiv by Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen. When asked to clarify plans to provide Ukraine with the fighter jets, Frederiksen stated that "our plans for the F-16 have not changed." "The number is the same as it has always been.
Six have already been delivered, this is the first batch," she added. According to the Prime Minister of Denmark, Ukraine will receive two more batches of fighter jets from Denmark.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Mette Frederiksen against the background of the Danish F-16 fighter. August 2023.Denmark. Photo credits: Office of the President of Ukraine
Denmark has pledged to transfer 19 F-16 aircraft, which were modernized under the Mid-Life Update (MLU) program in the 2000s. The future Ukrainian fighters underwent major repairs under the MLU program and received, among other things, a more modern AN/APG-66(V)2 radar.
As you know, Denmark, together with the Netherlands, led an international "fighter jet coalition" within which Ukrainian specialists are mastering the F-16. In September, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that Ukraine would receive a second batch of Danish fighters by the end of 2024.
F-16 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force. August 2024.Photo credits: Office of the President of Ukraine
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has already begun to transfer spare parts and equipment for the maintenance and repair of Ukrainian F-16s.
The first of the 24 promised Dutch fighter jets should arrive in Ukraine by the end of 2024.
On November 17, Ukrainian Air Force F-16s shot down about ten air targets while repelling a massive air attack on Ukraine in the morning of November 17.