Global Courant
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish government said on Monday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets has begun and the retirement of the Scandinavian country’s fleet of aging US fighter jets has been pushed back by two years.
The replacement fighters, F-35s, will be operational in 2025, Acting Defense Secretary Troels Lund Poulsen said. Initially, the switch was planned for 2027.
Lund Poulsen said NATO member Denmark “has taken the step of starting a training and upskilling effort for the Ukrainian pilots”.
“We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine from the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said.
Ukrainian pilots have to spend six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16 aircraft can become a reality, Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
“This does not mean that you cannot make a decision in advance. But (the F-16 aircraft) will be in Denmark until 2024,” said Lund Poulsen.
Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighter jets, which will replace the more than 40-year-old F-16s, of which Denmark has 30 operational aircraft. The transition to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter jets will take place from late 2023 to late 2025.
Ukraine has long asked for Western warplanes to help resist it large-scale Russian invasionwhich began in February 2022. Initially hesitant, the US and other NATO countries recently agreed to allow Ukrainian pilots to receive training on F-16 fighters, although no commitment has yet been made to transfer aircraft wear.
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