Denmark starts training Ukrainian pilots on F-16

Acting Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has announced the start of training Ukrainian pilots on Western F-16 fighters.

That's according to AP, Ukrinform reports.

Lund Poulsen said that Denmark "has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots."

“We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be,” he said.

The acting minister added that Ukrainian pilots would have to undergo six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16s would become a reality.

“This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024,” Lund Poulsen said.

Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighters to replace more than 40-year-old F-16s, of which Denmark has 30 operational aircraft. The transition to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter will take place from the end of 2023 to the end of 2025.

It is noted that this transition was originally planned for 2027.

As Ukrinform reported, last week the US Department of Defense confirmed that it had received an official request from Denmark to make a decision to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 aircraft in European countries.

Photo: Defensie.nl