There has been no official report from Denmark about possible delays in the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine that Kiev is expected to receive this spring, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ifnat said on state television on January 6.
“If you look at the Danish Ministry of Defense website, there is no statement of any kind,” he said.
Also read: Belgium sends two F-16Bs to Denmark in March to train Ukrainian pilots
“Therefore, this publication mentions some of its sources. This was quickly picked up and became mainstream in our media… What is stated in the article is the official statement Well, let’s take a look at all the statements that are not made through the media, because Western media often surprise us with some statements citing sources. There are official statements and we I’m going to follow that.”
Ifnat added that it makes no sense to deploy F-16s to Ukraine by the end of 2023, since the infrastructure for this is not yet ready.
“One group of pilots studying in the UK are the Class of 2023, who will train in the UK for up to two years before being transferred to the F-16,” he explained.
Also read: Airfield for Ukrainian pilots to train on F-16 fighter jets officially opens in Romania
“Another group is studying abroad in Arizona, USA, and the US side has announced that the training will continue until the end of 2024. Maybe someone will be trained sooner. In Denmark, we sent a The senior group has already been trained, the pilots have also been trained” and have already flown the F-16 with instructors… The training time for different groups in different countries varies. As far as Denmark is concerned, this is a progressive group. From there, both fighters and pilots will be the fastest. When will they be the fastest? ?Well, I’m still looking forward to spring.”
On January 6, Danish newspaper Berlingske reported that the delivery of the first six Danish F-16 fighters to Ukraine, scheduled for around the end of 2023, has been postponed until the second quarter of 2024.
The terms of delivery of the Danish F-16s, with eight more expected in 2024 and five more in 2025, remain unclear at this time.
In August, the Netherlands and Denmark promised to provide Ukraine with 61 aircraft (42 and 19, respectively). Subsequently, Norway confirmed its intention to supply F-16s. Belgium also plans to provide F-16s to Ukraine starting in 2025.
According to reports on January 5, two F-16 fighter jets donated by Norway have arrived in Denmark for the training of Ukrainian pilots.
Also read: F-16 coalition is working to increase the number of F-16 fighters delivered to Ukraine
Denmark is the only country to announce exact delivery dates for F-16s, while Norway and Belgium have not released details of the planned transfer.
Belgium will send two two-seat F-16Bs and about 50 instructors to Denmark to train Ukrainian pilots from March to September, RTBF reported on January 4, citing the country’s Ministry of Defense. We are planning to send them.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on December 22 that the Netherlands has begun preparations to deliver the first 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.
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