Norwegian government will hand over F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, - mass media
Norway has decided to provide Ukraine with F-16 aircraft.
This is reported by TV 2 with reference to several sources, Censor.NET reports.
As noted, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre arrived on a visit to Ukraine on Independence Day, 24 August.
There have been no official announcements on the provision and number of aircraft so far.
Norway will become the third NATO country after the Netherlands and Denmark to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
Earlier, the White House said that the United States supports the decision to provide F-16s to Ukraine after the pilots have completed their training.
After meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte, President Zelenskyy said that they were discussing the transfer of 42 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine after training our pilots. And the Netherlands and Denmark are committed to transferring F-16s to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots have already started training in Denmark.
Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said the country would provide 19 aircraft. Denmark plans to send the first 6 units to Ukraine closer to the New Year.
70 pilots and aviators are already undergoing training in Denmark. The minimum training period, according to Defence Minister Reznikov, is 6 months. At the same time, the Air Force commander said that two pilots would be able to master the F-16 in four months.
The Air Force said that Ukraine needs 128 fighter jets to gain air superiority.
The Pentagon has said that the US is ready to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s if European countries do not keep up. At the same time, the EU may reimburse some of the costs to countries that provide F-16s to Ukraine.
Greece will also join the training of Ukrainian pilots.
