Ukrainian pilots started training on F-16 fighter jets on November 13, 2023, according to Radio România Actualitați.
The pilots will be trained at a training center in Fetesti, 150 km south of Bucharest, at the 86th Air Base. The training will take six months.
The Netherlands will provide 12 to 18 fighter jets to train Ukrainian and Romanian pilots. The Dutch government sent the first five F-16s to Romania a week ago.
Lockheed, a U.S.-based company that manufactures F-16 jets, has provided instructors and maintenance personnel for the training.
The European Training Center at the Fetesti air base, which was inaugurated by Romanian Minister of Defense Angel Tîlvăr and his Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren, will become an international hub for training pilots to fly this type of aircraft.
Under the deal, the Romanian Ministry of Defense has made the air base and training facilities available, while the planes come from the Dutch Air Force, and Lockheed Martin provides the instructors and maintenance.
