The Netherlands will ship one other batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in 2025, Protection Minister Rustem Umerov introduced on Jan. 31.

Ukraine has already obtained U.S.-made F-16s from the Netherlands and Denmark, deploying them in air protection roles throughout Russian missile strikes. The primary jets arrived in August 2024.

The F-16 program was a key focus of Umerov’s assembly with Dutch Protection Minister Ruben Brekelmans in The Hague.

The Netherlands will proceed coaching Ukrainian pilots, engineers, and technicians, Umerov mentioned after visiting the bottom the place Ukrainian personnel are gaining hands-on expertise in servicing and repairing the plane.

"That is yet one more step towards establishing a full-fledged aviation infrastructure in Ukraine," Umerov mentioned.

Umerov additionally met with representatives of Dutch protection corporations who showcased missiles, drones, and radars. He and Brekelmans mentioned additional improvement of Ukraine’s drone capabilities, the 400 million euros ($415 million) in army help beforehand introduced by the Netherlands, and joint initiatives to reinforce Ukraine’s long-range strike capability.

"Industrial cooperation is one other key focus. The following logical step is the event of joint protection enterprises to strengthen our armed forces," Umerov added.

In historic record, Ukrainian F-16 pilot downs 6 cruise missiles in single mission, Air Force claimsFor the first time in the history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Ukrainian-operated jet shot down six Russian cruise missiles during a single mission in December, the Air Force claimed on Jan. 7.The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek