Washington gave the green light to the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. But how many such aircraft are available in Europe?” asks Le Point, quoted by Rador.

Joe Biden gave the long-awaited green signal to Kyiv: Ukraine’s partners will be able to send F-16 fighter jets purchased in the USA. A few days earlier, the prime ministers of Great Britain and the Netherlands announced their desire to create a European coalition to supply such fighters to Ukraine, and France volunteered to help in training pilots.

The F-16 is the best-selling Western fighter of its generation and still the most widely used fighter in the world, with more than 4,000 produced, of which more than 1,500 are still in service. Created in the late 1970s, it is a multi-purpose aircraft. It is capable of performing a wide range of missions, from reconnaissance to hunting other aircraft through ground attack.

The advantage of the F-16 for Ukraine, in addition to its versatility, is not so much its power (comparable to that which the Russians would oppose), but its availability: it is running out, and the European Air Force in particular. decommissioning dozens of these aircraft each year.

The Netherlands and Denmark, which initiated the initiative along with the British (which do not operate the F-16), have volunteered to provide the planes. The two countries are among the original partners of the F-16 program and agreed to industrial advantages in their territory in exchange for the purchase of the aircraft.

The Netherlands has upgraded half of its F-16 fleet

The Netherlands purchased a total of 213 aircraft, of which 108 were modernized and were still recently operated by the Netherlands Air Force. They are being replaced by American F-35s, so they can be delivered to Ukraine. In the 2000s, 6 aircraft were sold to Jordan and 18 to Chile.

Amsterdam recently reportedly canceled the sale of 40 F-16s to private company Draken, which planned to use them as “plastrons” (acting as an adversary during exercises) for air force training. Another group of 28 fighters looking for buyers can also be transferred to Kyiv.

Denmark purchased a total of 62 F-16s and was originally scheduled to retire the aircraft in 2024. But facing delays in the delivery of its successor (again the American F-35), the old aircraft will remain in service until 2027 in the kingdom.

As decommissioning is gradual, a number of Danish F-16s are still available for sale or donation. Argentina has offered to buy them as part of building up its air force, but Copenhagen may decide to send them to Ukraine as a priority.

Norway operated 72 F-16s, all upgraded and already replaced by F-35s. So far, 32 of these fighters have been delivered to Romania in 2021, with another 12 to Draken.

In Belgium in 2022, the air component still operated 53 F-16s out of 160 on order. But Brussels expects the first F-35 deliveries in 2025 and says its air force needs all the planes it has to carry out its missions.

If a country has volunteered to help train pilots and mechanics, it is still prohibited from supplying fighter jets. In any case, the nation’s leaders say their F-16s, which have reached their scheduled 8,000 flight hours, will need a full overhaul before they can consider any deliveries.

Portugal rules out delivery of F-16

Other European countries operate the fighter: Portugal has 30 refurbished F-16s and has offered to take part in training the Ukrainians, but has also ruled out supplying any aircraft as they are all needed for their missions.

Romania is a recent buyer, so it is unlikely that the country will offer such aircraft. Greece and Turkey, the two main operators of the F-16, have a logic of mutual confrontation and regularly upgrade their fleets to the latest standards, so they are unlikely to supply Ukraine.

Across the Atlantic, Washington received more than half of the F-16s produced and still operates just over a thousand in 2021, in addition to several hundred more in reserve. The aircraft is being replaced by the F-35, but the United States is sticking to its operational capabilities and currently rules out any deliveries to Ukraine.

Whatever it is, pilot training takes months, from 3 to 6, if not more, and mechanics at least as many. The F-16 is an aircraft that also requires a heavy logistics base that will need to be installed and requires infrastructure to be in very good shape.

Probably, their work will require adaptation of the runways of Ukrainian air bases. Therefore, Ukraine will have to wait before receiving its first Western multi-purpose aircraft, according to Le Point (Rador).