Norway’s defense minister stated that his country will support the training of Ukrainian Air Force pilots on F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets.
– Norge vil vurdere ulike måter å bidra til opplæring og trening av ukrainsk personell på jagerflyet F-16, sier forsvarsminister Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp).https://t.co/cLl3hqigVZ
— Forsvarsdepartement (@Forsvarsdep) May 24, 2023
«Norway will consider various ways to contribute to the education and training of Ukrainian personnel on the F-16 fighter jet,» Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said.
The United States, during the G7 meeting in Japan, gave the go-ahead for several countries to start training Ukrainian personnel on Western fighter planes, in particular the F-16. First Poland, and now Norway, said they were ready to start training pilots as part of a joint effort among European NATO member countries.
Wicepremier @mblaszczak: jesteśmy gotowi żeby szkolić 🇺🇦 pilotów na samolotach F-16. Zaproponowałem, żeby było to zadanie realizowane w ramach misji Unii Europejskiej. To doskonały przykład współpracy państw 🇪🇺 oraz możliwość obniżenia kosztów takiego szkolenia. pic.twitter.com/3NYLevkU9S
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) May 23, 2023
«The (Norwegian) government is positive about such an initiative. Together with its allies and partners, Norway is now assessing how we can contribute to the education and training (of Ukrainian pilots),» Gram said.
Since the beginning of the war, Norway has been supporting Ukraine by donating military equipment.
«The Government has prioritized donations of military equipment and support to Ukraine with high impact in the short term, for example by donating NASAMS air defense, artillery and artillery ammunition, and tanks. Norway also contributes heavily to the training and education of Ukrainian personnel, both in Norway and abroad. It is important that we remain united in our support to Ukraine. Norway will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion forces for as long as it is needed,» said Gram.
The Norwegian F-16
In early 2022, Norway completed the retirement from active service of its last 64 F-16 fighters, acquired in the 1980s, which are being replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35.
But these aircraft, considered the best maintained F-16s in Europe (in the words of the then Director General of the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency, Mette Sørfonden), quickly found interested buyers.
The first interested party was the U.S. aggressor training company Draken International, which bought a dozen aircraft. Then, in November 2022, the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency (NDMA) signed a contract with Romania for the sale of another 32 F-16MLU aircraft for €388 million, in order to decommission the aging Romanian MiG-21 LanceRs from active service as soon as possible; their operational safety had fallen to dangerous levels.
This would leave Norway with about twenty F-16 A/Bs for eventual transfer to Ukraine. These aircraft are upgraded to the advanced MLU standard M6.5.2 configuration, which includes the ability to deliver modern smart bombs such as the laser-guided JDAM or the AIM-120D AMRAAM long-range air-to-air and IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missiles.
