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Update: Netherlands and Denmark to donate up to 61 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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While any aid is good aid IMO, I do wonder how much will this contribute to the liberation of Eastern Ukraine? I mean, 61 isn't that much right?
We (Denmark) are donating more than half of the F-16 we got. It severely disables our air force, I sure hope they will make quite a difference.
Not sure about the percentage for NL but I'm proud (for once) of my (and your) government. This will be huge.
NL is looking into donating 42 F16's which is literally every F16 they have. To be fair, they won't really be missed, because they were already phased out due to the new F35 models that are mainly used.
I'm curious how many they can donate as flying planes, as some have been scavenged for parts for the ones in active service. The Dutch press doesn't give numbers though.
Hey, who needs a flight stick right... 😉
Engines are useful too, as are flaps, canopy,... (no clue which parts are missing, but they are grounded for a reason)
61 is much higher than I expected, I think it'll make a big difference
We (Denmark) are getting F35 now, so I'm guessing some of those F16 were to be phased out anyway.
Also we have made an arrangement with Sweden, Norway and Finland creating a mutual airforce. Having the aid of Sweden alone, more than compensates, they have several times more fighter jets than we have.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2023/03/24/nordic-countries-move-toward-linking-their-air-forces-250-planes/
These F16's are much more worth to Ukraine than they are to us.
Wonder if that means they've pushed up the delivery date for the Danish F-35s
Consider that as of 2022, Russia apparently had about 87-90 each of the MiG-29/31, and only 6 of their newest MiG-35.
So adding (up to) 61 F-16s is no small reinforcement.
Nobody actually cares much for the jets per se . It's the capability to fire NATO supplied missiles properly (the jury-rigged setups for their MiGs right now is often very limited) that is the valued bonus of getting F-16.
That’s nearly a 10% increase in Ukraine’s aircraft, and it’s a much more advance jet than they currently fly. If used properly this could be huge.