Belgian government officials on Friday announced their nation is accelerating the delivery of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets to Ukraine.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said during a press conference that the jets would be delivered by the end of 2024, according to the Belgian broadcaster VRT.
In October, Belgium announced it would provide Ukraine with an undisclosed amount of F-16s, and a dozen other countries have also pledged to send a number of the U.S.-made fighter jets from their arsenals to Kyiv. When Belgium first pledged the aircraft, officials said their Fighting Falcons would not make it to Ukraine until 2025, but now Dedonder said they are working hard to expedite the delivery.
"We will do everything possible to deliver the planes by the end of the year," Dedonder said, per VRT. "I want to make it clear that our own security will not be jeopardized."
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Friday night for comment.
Ukrainian pilots are being trained by an international coalition on how to fly F-16s. Training has taken place in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania and the United States. France also reportedly began training Ukraine's pilots on Fighting Falcons earlier this month.
Military analysts consider the addition of F-16s to Kyiv's military as an upgrade to the Ukrainian Air Force. For much of the war that was started by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022, Ukraine has relied on Soviet-era MiG and Sukhoi jets.
Meanwhile, Putin has dismissed claims that the F-16 will change the course of the war. During an Eastern Economic Forum speech in Russia in September, the Russian leader said the procurement of the jets by Ukraine "simply prolongs the conflict."
While discussing the new timetable for the F-16s, De Croo described the decision to supply Kyiv with the fighter jets as "a big step for the defense of Ukraine."
"But now our country joins a limited group of countries that will actually supply aircraft to Ukraine," he added.
However, Belgium's F-16s may not be the first to arrive to the Ukrainian Air Force. Speaking to Foreign Policy for a story published in February, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said he thinks "we will see them [F-16s] in Ukraine in June."
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also indicated that he believes Kyiv's military will receive the aircraft this year. During opening remarks at a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Friday, Austin said, "This year, more than a squadron of donated F-16s will start to arrive in Ukraine, along with pilots and maintainers..."
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Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
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