The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands has informed that the training center will be established in one of the eastern member states of NATO.
The Defense Minister said that the Netherlands and several European countries are working to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 as soon as possible, with a training center being set up in an Eastern European country. , Kajsa Ollongren, in a letter to the House of Representatives. In addition, the Netherlands is also once again contributing to bolstering Ukraine’s air defense.
Defense is working on an F-16 training plan for Ukraine. With Denmark and the support of the United States, the Netherlands is in charge of coordinating European efforts in this regard. All those involved are now working on the content of the training courses in consultation with, among others, Belgium, Luxembourg, the UK and industry.
The plan to achieve this consists of three ways:
- Begin the first F-16 conversion training for Ukrainian pilots as soon as possible.
- Proficiency in the language and initial or basic flight training and
- Establishment of an F-16 training center in one of NATO’s eastern member states.
In this way, the long-term need is also met.
Training sessions begin with a limited number of Ukrainian pilots. There could be more later.
Reuters reported that at the Ramstein-format Ukrainian Defense Contact Group meeting, Denmark would propose to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets as early as August. It should be noted that Denmark, which hosts the flight simulators, has already decided the training conditions for Ukrainian pilots.
Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, reported that in the first wave, Ukraine would send its best pilots who have passed a strict selection for training.
Contribution to the air defense of Ukraine
With the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, this war reached a new low. Russia, meanwhile, is bombing Ukrainian civilian and military targets from the air, killing and wounding again today and yesterday. Therefore, it remains important to strengthen Ukrainian air defenses. The Netherlands contributes to this together with its allies.
The International Fund for Ukraine (FIIU) has made available 92 million euros for air defense. This was announced yesterday by the Defense Ministers of the Joint Expeditionary Force. During the meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which will be held this Friday, it will be announced that the Netherlands will contribute 40 million euros to purchase air defense equipment within the framework of a multilateral partnership, which will be delivered to Ukraine in the very short term.
radar systems
In addition, the Ministry of Defense is going to acquire 4 VERA-EG passive radar systems worth 150 million euros. These are aerial radars. Detect, locate, track and identify land and sea targets. In this way, the Netherlands contributes to the integrated air defense of Ukraine. These capabilities are in addition to previous deliveries.
Netherlands Ministry of Defense
