Formation of Dutch F-16s above the North Sea. Photo, Dutch Ministry of Defence.
The Netherlands has delivered the final two F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to Romania to train Ukrainian military aircrews.
The handover is part of an 18-aircraft program pledged by the Dutch government last year to assist Ukrainian warfighters in improving their aerial combat skills amidst the Russian invasion.
Amsterdam sent the first five F-16s for this initiative in November 2023 and said at the time that the fleet “will only fly in NATO air space.”
Lessons are being led by Romanian, American, and Danish instructors at a Lockheed Martin-built facility at Fetesti Air Base, Muntenia, where Bucharest’s own students and NATO partners also train.
Apart from the practice jets, the Netherlands is supplying 24 additional F-16s to Ukraine for operational use.
The US, source of the Fighting Falcon, agreed in 2023 on the transfer of the Dutch aircraft to Kyiv in response to Russia’s aggression “as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training.”
Developed by Lockheed Martin, the F-16 has a wingspan of 33 feet (10 meters) and an overall airframe length of 50 feet (15 meters).
It can be armed with a rotary cannon, general-purpose and laser-guided explosives, air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles, and nuclear bombs, depending on user requirements.
The plane is equipped with either a General Electric or Pratt & Whitney engine for altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters), a range of 2,277 nautical miles (2,620 miles/4,217 kilometers), and a speed of approximately 500 knots (575 miles/926 kilometers per hour).
