The Netherlands demonstrated the training of Ukrainian aviation technicians in maintaining F-16 fighter jet equipment.

Air Commodore Johan van Deventer, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force Air Combat Command, reported on this.

Ten Ukrainian aircraft maintenance technicians are trained with Dutch specialists at the Volkel air base.

“We are helping Ukraine win the battle in every way we can. This week, we again trained a group of Ukrainian servicemen to maintain F-16 aviation safety equipment,” Deventer said.

A statement from the country’s defense ministry revealed the details, saying that Ukrainian technicians have learned to service all the important elements of the fighter pilot’s protective equipment, such as the helmet, oxygen system, and parachute system on board.

The training also included assembling and testing a survival kit. In the event of an accident, this will allow the pilot to survive for several days after an emergency landing. Among other things, it includes food and medicine.

“They come back to the front line with new knowledge and unprecedented motivation,” Deventer said.

The Ministry of Defense emphasizes that the Netherlands has agreed to provide Ukraine with at least 24 F-16 fighter jets. They are to arrive after the training of pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, and proper aviation infrastructure in Ukraine is completed.

At the beginning of May, Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, announced that the Netherlands plans to start transferring F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this fall, following Denmark, which intends to deliver the planes in the summer.

Volkel Air Base

Volkel Air Base, located near the city of Uden in the municipality of Maashorst, is one of the main operating bases of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.

It is home to Dutch F-16s and 5th-generation F-35 fighter jets. It is expected that after the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed, the first F-16s will be sent to Ukraine from here.

As previously reported, the Dutch government will purchase aviation weapons for F-16 fighter jets, which will soon be transferred to Ukraine.