The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands has issued a license to export 24 F-16 fighter jets and seven aviation engines for them to Ukraine.
This information comes from a letter by the Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kajsa Ollongren, published on the website of the lower house of the Dutch parliament. The document states that the export license was issued on June 19, and the Netherlands will "soon deliver the first F-16s to Ukraine."
However, it also notes that "at Ukraine's request, further information will no longer be disclosed ahead of the first delivery," and parliament representatives will be informed about it confidentially.
In June, Ollongren announced that the first F-16s would be handed over to Ukraine "this summer," with further aircraft exports to follow "in due course." However, following this, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands published a statement that the 24 fighters would be delivered "after the summer."
Last year, the Netherlands, together with the United Kingdom, formed an international coalition to procure F-16s for Ukraine. Additionally, the country's authorities sent their fighters to a training center in Romania to train Ukrainian pilots. After transferring the fighters to Kyiv, the Netherlands authorized Ukrainian military to use them for strikes on Russian territory.
