The Netherlands will make at least 18 F-16 fighter aircraft available to Ukraine. Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren informed the Netherlands House of Representatives of this today. The Netherlands committed itself to doing so during a visit by Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy earlier this year. Now that the cabinet has decided to ready the F-16s, personnel and budget can be allocated to prepare for the delivery. This new decision was preceded by the undertaking to deliver F-16s to the European F-16 training centre in Romania. This centre was ceremonially opened last month by the Dutch and Romanian ministers of defence. Ollongren explained that the F-16s will improve Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian attacks. This is of major importance because there seems to be no end in sight to Russia’s ongoing aggression. Dutch support for Ukraine will therefore continue unabated.
To prevent undesirable end use, a licence is required for the export of military technology and equipment. This requirement also applies to the F-16s in question. The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs will therefore assess the aircraft in terms of the European Union’s criteria for arms exports. The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation will decide whether to grant an export licence on the basis of that assessment. In addition to this licensing, a number of criteria must be met before the aircraft can actually be delivered. These criteria include trained Ukrainian personnel and suitable infrastructure in Ukraine, for example. Before being transferred to Ukraine, all aircraft will be inspected and, if necessary, modified. Furthermore, some of the aircraft require an overhaul.
Since 7 November, 5 Dutch F-16s have been stationed at the European F-16 Training Centre (EFTC) in Romania. The aircraft will be used to train Romanian and Ukrainian pilots.The Netherlands took the initiative to establish the EFTC and will make 12 to 18 F-16s available for training purposes. The aircraft will remain the property of the Netherlands. Together with Denmark and with the support of the United States, the Netherlands is in charge of coordinating European efforts aimed at providing Ukraine with F-16 capabilities. It was previously announced that Lockheed Martin would provide the training and maintain the aircraft. The training centre in Romania will first use the aircraft to provide a refresher course for the hired F-16 instructors, after which training will be provided to the Romanian and Ukrainian pilots. The aircraft will only be flown in NATO airspace.
The Royal Netherlands Air Force purchased a total of 213 F-16A/B aircraft. The Netherlands were one of the four European Participating Air Forces, and one of 5 countries to build the F-16 locally. Force reductions saw the fleet reduced to 68 aircraft, all of them upgraded to MLU standard. Some surplus aircraft have been sold to Jordan and Chile. In 2003, the Dutch government decided to cut the F-16 force by 25%. From 2004 onwards, The Netherlands will provide 108 F-16s to NATO, with 90 being available for operational deployments. As many as 36 F-16s would be sold; however, increased attrition losses might reduce this number. On November 21st, 2005 Jordan signed a LOI to buy three Dutch F-16s, all two-seaters. Another 3 two-seaters were added to the order in 2007. In December of 2005 the Chilean government signed a contract with the Netherlands to supply it with up to 18 Dutch F-16s. These will form a new squadron aside the newly delivered block 50 F-16s.
