Any Time Now: Netherlands Signs Permit to Send F-16s to Ukraine
First of 24
“The Netherlands will supply Ukraine with the first of 24 promised F-16 fighter jets soon, the outgoing Dutch government said on Monday.
The necessary permits to deliver the jets to Ukraine have been granted, Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said in a letter to parliament ahead of a government transition on Tuesday after months of coalition building following an election last year”.
She did not specify how many fighter jets will be delivered or the exact timeline of the delivery, which is understandable. I think they will aim for at least one squadron of F-16s, typically consisting of 12 to 24 aircraft. Keeping the initial delivery small will be very helpful.
Exposing the F-16s to Russian long-range missiles should be avoided. Yesterday, Ukraine made a significant mistake in the two-and-a-half-year-long war. They parked some of their Soviet jets in an open field at the Myrhorod military airfield in Poltava Oblast, about 150 km from the border in the northeast.
The Russian defense ministry announced that they destroyed five Su-27 jets. Ukrainian…
