Norway announces six F-16 jets for Ukraine at NATO summit
Norway will send six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first aircraft arriving in 2024, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced at the NATO summit, as reported by the Norwegian newspaper VG on July 10.
Previously, Norway had not specified the number of jets it would provide following a decision made in 2023. Denmark has pledged 19 jets, the Netherlands 24, and Belgium recently announced it would send 30 to Kyiv.
According to VG, the first jets could be transferred to Ukraine as early as summer 2024. Norway retired its F-16 fleet in 2021, transitioning to the newer F-35 fighters.
F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine
The Netherlands and Denmark pledged in August 2023 to jointly deliver 61 American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, after approval from the United States.
Norway has also confirmed its intention to supply F-16s, while Belgium plans to deliver the jets starting in 2025.
The Netherlands announced preparations to deliver the first 18 jets to Ukraine and later increased this number to 24 in Dec. 2023, promising a total of 42 fighters to Kyiv.
The anticipated delivery timeframe for the fighter jets is the first half of 2024.
The first multi-role F-16 fighter with trained Ukrainian pilots would arrive in Ukraine by summer 2024, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on April 18.
The Netherlands plans to start sending F-16s to Ukraine in the fall of 2024, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said on May 6.
Danish Ambassador to Kyiv Ole Egberg Mikkelsen said the jets would arrive this summer.
The Netherlands reiterated that Ukraine should receive the first F-16 fighter jets by summer, The Guardian reported on June 20.
