The Netherlands plans to increase the number of F-16 fighter jets in Romania to speed up and increase the intensity of training for Ukrainian pilots.
General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of Defence of the Netherlands Armed Forces, reported on this.
By the end of the year, the country aims to deploy up to 18 F-16 fighter jets to the Romanian air base. Before that, the government did not give an exact figure concerning F-16 quantity in Romania; it varied from 12 to 18 aircraft.
In addition, Eichelsheim emphasized that the increase in the number of these fighter jets will have a positive impact on the quality and speed of training for Ukrainian pilots.
Now we assume that they need 18 fighter jets for training, and we also plan to implement this, said Onno Eichelsheim
While the F-16s are in Romania, they will remain the property of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. According to him, training for Ukrainian pilots should begin early next year.
Initially, the fighter jets will be used to train Ukrainian and Romanian instructors who are to undergo a refresher course. After that, pilots will be involved in the exercises for retraining.
Back on November 7, 2023, three F-16AM fighter jets with tail numbers J-010, J-019, and J-366 and two F-16BMs with tail numbers J-064 and J-210 arrived at the Romanian Baza 86 Aeriana Fetesti airbase.
These aircraft will be used by a European training center led by the Netherlands and Denmark.
In addition to these countries, the United States, Norway, and Greece will assist in training for this type of fighter jet.
In 2022, three of these fighter jets with tail numbers J-210, J-064, and J-010, were in the United States. Fighter jets were used to train pilots on Viper fighters under an international agreement.
The F-16 with tail number J-064, was reported to have had a technical problem. In December 2022, the aircraft was sent to the Portuguese Air Force hangar for maintenance when it arrived from the United States.