Ammunition and maintenance for Ukrainian F-16s
The Netherlands is going to provide maintenance equipment and materials for Ukraine’s F-16s, as well as air-to-air missiles that the aircraft can use to defend Ukrainian airspace. Dutch Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans announced this at today’s meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
“The F-16 aircraft need support materials and spare parts for maintenance, otherwise they cannot fly. The Netherlands will supply €80 million worth of materials. Besides large quantities of spare parts, these include generators, small vehicles, essential maintenance materials, specialised tools, and stairs. With the air-to-air missiles, Ukraine can take down enemy aircraft.” For reasons of operational safety, the minister did not provide any specifics about the quantities or types involved.
Nor did he comment on the planned delivery time, but the intention is to have the materials reach Ukraine as soon as possible.
IFU
It is also noteworthy that the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) reported passing the £1 billion mark in pledged aid to Ukraine earlier this week. The Netherlands is a partner in this fund that is administered by the UK.
Before the summer, the Netherlands announced that it had contributed to the purchase of drones for Ukraine through the IFU, and to date the country has contributed €125 million to the fund.
All amounts mentioned are covered by the aid funds previously made available for Ukraine.