After a month of uncertainty in March, following the suspension and later resumption of intelligence sharing, Ukraine’s Air Force is showing increasing combat readiness with its F-16 fighter jets. This progress comes as pilots become more familiar with the new platform and additional aircraft are delivered by European allies. This was recently reported by General Christopher G. Cavoli, Chief of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
“They fly every day; they’ve neutralized a large number of cruise missile threats and have also carried out numerous offensive strikes, particularly bombing missions in the east,” stated General Cavoli. He added — without offering even an estimate of the current size of Ukraine’s F-16 fleet — that the jets currently in service have been transferred by Denmark and the Netherlands.
This detail is significant, as both the Danish and Dutch governments, through their respective defense ministers, have reported progress in transferring part of their F-16 fleets, which are being replaced by the fifth-generation F-35 fighters.
In early March, Denmark confirmed it had completed the transfer of 12 F-16s out of a total of 19 committed aircraft. The Netherlands, for its part, announced in October 2024 that it had begun the delivery of 24 aircraft, confirming that the first units had arrived in Ukraine this past February.
However, as of now, there have been no reports confirming whether Ukraine’s Air Force has received aircraft from the other two countries in the coalition — namely, Norway and Belgium.
In Norway’s case, the country has completed the retirement of its F-16 fleet, becoming the first F-35 program partner to receive its full order of stealth fighters. According to reports from the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the European country is authorized to transfer up to “… 22 F-16 Block 10/15s, engines, support equipment, test benches, tools, maintenance material, simulators, spare parts, manuals, and technical documents.”
Belgium, meanwhile, has committed up to 30 of its F-16 fighters to support Ukraine’s war effort. However, the Belgian government recently reported that the delivery of its fighter jets will be delayed until next year, according to Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
Beyond these issues, and returning to the U.S. military leadership’s statements, Ukrainian F-16s are showing a growing level of operational capability. They are no longer limited to air cover missions over the capital — where they’ve played a key role in intercepting drones and various types of missiles — but are now also involved in strike operations against ground targets in eastern Ukraine.
As previously reported, by mid-February Ukrainian F-16s had been observed carrying various U.S.-supplied air-to-ground weapons, including GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs). However, to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine — where Russian radar and air defense systems are widespread — the aircraft are equipped with ALQ-131 electronic countermeasure pods. In the case of the Danish-transferred Fighting Falcons, they are further outfitted with ECIPS+ (Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon System with Missile Warning System) and PIDS+ (Pylon Integrated Dispenser System with Missile Warning System) pylons.
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