Denmark to end F-16 pilot training for Ukraine at year-end, defense minister says

Denmark will end its training program for Ukrainian pilots of F-16 warplanes at the end of the year to focus on its new fighter jets, the Nordic country’s defense minister said, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.

Once the program is complete, Denmark will have trained “about” 20 pilots from Ukraine, Troels Lund Poulsen said at a news briefing on Monday. The Scandinavian nation last year pledged to send 19 F-16s to Kyiv once it had trained pilots to fly them.

The F-16 coalition led by countries including the US, Netherlands and Denmark will have to look at alternative locations, in addition to an already established training facility in Romania, to continue the activities, Lund Poulsen said.

“We will be transitioning to flying the F-35, so we need to spend our energy on that, and so we cannot continue training Ukrainian pilots after 2024,” the defense minister said. Denmark has ordered 27 new F-35 planes, though delivery has been hit by several delays.