Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that the F-16 fighter jets, which Denmark is to transfer to Ukraine, will appear in Ukrainian skies by the summer of 2024. According to her, the delay is solely related to technical issues. She made this announcement during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv.
She noted that the only reason Denmark is delaying the transfer of the fighter jets is “simply a technical reason, a technical issue.”
“Because significant infrastructure is needed to service these fighter jets, and training for F-16s takes much longer and is more intensive than for any other weapon systems,” she explained.
Frederiksen emphasized that the country is very pleased that “Denmark is planning to provide these fighter jets in cooperation with the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States.”
“This is a very powerful weapon. I hope that we will soon, before the summer, see F-16s in Ukrainian airspace,” she said.
Frederiksen also reminded that the training of Ukrainian pilots began as early as August and is proceeding “very well and quickly.”