In the Netherlands, they said goodbye to F-16 fighters, they were decommissioned and will be handed over to Ukraine

The Dutch Air Force held a farewell ceremony for its last F-16 fighter jets. Planes flew over the cities of the country. Now they will be transferred to Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands reported.

The country has removed fighter jets from service, they are planned to be replaced by new new F-35s.

“The era of the F-16 is over for the Air Force, but not for the F-16. Of those devices that have not been sold or scrapped for years, 14 of the promised 18 are now in Romania. Fighter pilots are trained here, not only Romanian, but also Ukrainian. And the Netherlands is giving Ukraine the last F-16s to fight against the Russians,” the report says.

The department said that the Air Force of the Netherlands has operated the F-16 for 45 years.

The first F-16 fighters that arrived in Ukraine were shown during the Air Force Day celebrations on August 4. According to The Economist, Ukraine received 10 of the promised 79 aircraft.

In total, the Ukrainian Air Force will receive 24 F-16 fighters from the Netherlands as part of the aviation coalition.