F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots in Romania to begin “within weeks,” says Dutch defense minister

The Netherlands plans to send over a dozen F-16 fighter jets to a training center in Romania for Ukrainian pilots who will undergo a training on the aircraft in upcoming weeks, said Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. The country is preparing to transfer 12-18 F-16 fighter jets which will help Ukraine to detect and destroy Russian targets, as per NL Times.

"We hope to transfer 12-18 aircraft to Romania within a few weeks so that the center can start its full operation," Kajsa Ollongren announced at the NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Ukaine is preparing the infrastructure for the use of F-16 aircraft.

“As we have military operations ongoing, we will not build the infrastructure as in peacetime so that everything there shines beautifully, we need it to work so that a plane can land on the runway, so that there are shelters for it so that the enemy cannot destroy it there, etc. Well, the means of controlling that plane, communication – we are working on this, Ukraine is doing its homework. It is clear that it is not easy to retrain on a Western fighter from the Soviet one, which was designed back in 1970, so it takes a little time,” he said commenting on the readiness of the Ukrainian infrastructure for the use of F-16 aircraft.

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