Norway will support the training of Ukrainian personnel on US-made F-16 fighter jets, officials said Wednesday.
The Norwegian Defense Ministry said that while the country has not decided whether to donate any of its F-16s to Ukraine, it will consider different ways to contribute to training.
Push for fighter jets: Over the weekend, US President Joe Biden gave his backing for Kyiv’s pilots to be trained to fly the US-made planes. Biden’s comments at a summit with G7 leaders in Japan came days after Britain and the Netherlands said they were building an “international coalition” to help Ukraine procure F-16s as it seeks to improve its defenses against Russian air attacks.
The Biden administration has also signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the US would allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine if there are formal requests, sources familiar with the discussions said. The US would have to approve any third-party transfers because of the jets’ sensitive US technology.
F-16s are single-engine, multi-role jet aircraft, meaning they can be used in air-to-air or ground-attack missions. The jets for Ukraine are expected to be older versions that have been in the fleets of US allies, especially those in Western Europe.