By KYIV. Nov 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Five Dutch F-16 fighters will depart on Tuesday, November 7, for Romania, where a training center for training Ukrainian and Romanian pilots will soon open at the Fetești airbase, the Dutch Ministry of Defense reports.
According to a message on the department’s website, the Netherlands took the initiative to create a center and provided from 12 to 18 F-16 fighters for this purpose. The aircraft remain the property of the Netherlands.
“Together with Denmark and with the support of the United States, the Netherlands is responsible for coordinating European efforts to develop an F-16 capability for Ukraine,” the statement said.
It was previously announced that Lockheed Martin would provide training and maintenance for the aircraft.
A training center in Romania will initially use the aircraft to improve the skills of contracted F-16 instructors. Next comes pilot training.
“The grand opening of the training center will take place soon,” the Ministry of Defense said.
