In August 2023, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre reported during a visit to Kyiv that his country would transfer six of its F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. However, as of now, none of these aircraft have entered service with the Ukrainian Air Force.
This is reported by NRK, citing three anonymous sources and a response from Defense Minister Tore Sandvik.
According to media reports, two Norwegian fighter jets were used to train Ukrainian pilots in Denmark, but have now been under repair in Belgium for over a year. Four more aircraft were unable to fly, so they were sent disassembled to a factory in Belgium in April 2025.
The main reason for the delay, sources say, is serious problems with the facilities for servicing and training F-16s at this facility.
The scope of work is enormous — it would take about a year to repair the four planes if started now. Each one is missing about 100 parts, making assembly difficult.
The Norwegian authorities promised that all the promised aircraft would be delivered by the end of 2025. Previously, several representatives of the Norwegian authorities, through their statements, created the impression that the F-16s were already in Ukraine.
In particular, the Commander-in-Chief of the Norwegian Army said that F-16s from the coalition of Western countries have become a key part of Ukrainian air defense. In January 2025, the Minister of Defense assured that the first F-16 had already been transferred to Ukraine, and everything was going according to plan.
Now, Defense Minister Tore Sandvik confirms that the planes are still being repaired in Belgium. He admitted that the 32 best F-16s that Norway had were transferred to Romania, not Ukraine.
The head of the Norwegian parliamentʼs defense committee Peter Fröhlich reacted sharply to the delays in the transfer of the fighters: "This looks like a scandal. Iʼm really angry. The majority in Norway thought that these planes were already flying and defending Ukraine."
- In early March, Belgian broadcaster VRT revealed that Belgium has not delivered any of the 30 F-16 fighter jets it promised to Ukraine in two years.
- The Ministry of Defense cited the delay in the delivery of American F-35s to Belgium, with which the country wants to replace its aging aircraft, as the main reason. The fighters from the US have not yet arrived, so the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine is also delayed.
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