The Royal Danish Air Force officially closed one of the longest and most iconic chapters in its combat aviation history on January 18, 2026, by retiring the last F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet.
The planes have guarded the country’s air space for almost 46 years, marking a full transition to a fifth-generation fleet based on F-35 Lightning II.
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The farewell ceremony took place at Skridstrup Air Base, attended by Major General Jan Dam, Head of the Air Force, as well as Lieutenant General Per Pugholm Olsen, Head of the Defense Acquisition Office. This event was announced by the Danish Defense Acquisition Authority.
Nearly half a century of service
The first Danish F-16 aircraft landed in the country on 18 January 1980. Throughout the program, the Royal Danish Air Force acquired a total of 77 aircraft in the F-16A and F-16B variants, in two main batches, as well as two additional orders to replace early retired airframes.
In the late 1970s, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands—members of the European Participating Air Forces—began a search for a replacement for the F-104 Starfighter. The group became the F-16’s first international customer and, together with the United States, participated in the fighter jet’s multinational development program.
Under industrial agreements, aircraft for European countries are produced on the continent. The Danish F-16s from the first batch were assembled by SABCA in Belgium, while the second batch rolled out of Fokker production lines in the Netherlands.
The initial order included 46 single-seat F-16As and 12 two-seat F-16Bs, all of Block 1 standard, with deliveries beginning in January 1980. In August 1984, another 12 Block 15 aircraft with extended tails—eight F-16As and four F-16Bs—were produced by Fokker to replace aircraft worn out by intensive use.
Transition to F-35
To replace the veteran fleet, Denmark acquired 27 F-35A fighter jets. The last aircraft produced in the United States are expected to be delivered throughout 2026, with the entire fleet based in Skridstrupwhere the dedicated infrastructure for the new platform has been completed.
The country has participated in the F-35 program since 1997. Following evaluations carried out between 2013 and 2016, the government officially recommended in May 2016 the purchase of at least 27 units. Parliament approved the program’s budget in 2017, with implementation planned until 2026.
The first Danish F-35A was received on 7 April 2021 directly from Lockheed Martin. Since then, the country decided to expand its fleet with the acquisition of an additional 16 aircraft, strengthening its air defense capabilities and power projection in the NATO context.
With the retirement of the F-16, Denmark closes an era marked by decades of interoperability and readiness, while confirming the country’s definitive entry into the most advanced generation of fighter jets.
Source and images: Forsvarsministeriets Materiel- og Indkøbsstyrelse – Facebook @FMI. This content is created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
