Dutch defense minister: We can share UAV technology with Ukraine

The Netherlands has a lot of technology and expertise in the field of drones that it can share with Ukraine.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said this in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform's correspondent in The Hague.

"So we are very happy that we can support Ukraine with the F-16s, because the F-16s are essential for Ukrainian air defense. We do not share any operational details about the quantity or the exact date of delivery. And that's not because we don't want to inform the Ukrainian public or because we don't want to inform the Dutch public, but it is because we don't want to inform the Russian public, because we know that the Russian regime is very much interested in everything about F-16s. Of course, they see it as an important target. So that's the reason why we don't share anything about the exact delivery of the F-16s," he said.

Brekelmans emphasized that the Netherlands would continue to support Ukraine.

"All those systems that we provide require a lot of ammunition, a lot of reserve parts. also a lot of maintenance training of people. So we will continue to do that. And also another area in which we invest a lot is in drones. We see that drones are very important at the battlefield at this moment. And we in the Netherlands, we have a lot of technology and a lot of knowledge that we can share with Ukraine, and that we can also make available to Ukraine by investing ourselves and making investments together with Ukraine. So that's going to be also an important priority for us," he said.

A farewell flight of F-16 fighter jets took place in the Netherlands on September 27. The F-35 fighter jets will officially replace the F-16s at the Dutch Air Force.

Decommissioned aircraft will be transferred to other countries. In total, 18 F-16s are to be sent to the pilot training center in Romania and 24 to Ukraine.