Denmark is retiring its F-16 fleet – see the high-tech jet that’s replacing it

After 46 years of service in the Royal Danish Air Force, Denmark has retired its fleet of F-16 fighter jets by January 18, 2026. Denmark has been using these versatile, but now obsolete, fighters since the 1980s, purchasing a total of 77 of them. A farewell ceremony was held at Skrydstrup Air Base’s Hangar 3, where four F-16s landed after their final flight on Danish soil. Pilots, technicians and others who have worked with the F-16 greeted invited guests as they gave the aircraft one last look.

The history of the F-16 begins in the early 1970s, when a group of General Dynamics aerospace analysts and engineers designed what would become the F-16. Dissatisfied with the tendency to make fighter jets heavier and harder to maneuver than their predecessors, this group, known as the Lightweight Fighter Mafia, created something completely different.

Emphasizing high speed and agility, the F-16 was intended to be faster and more maneuverable than the fighters it was going up against, with the ability to evade any weapons used against it. The F-16 had advanced technologies such as fly-by-wire and heads-up display. Over time, the F-16 was upgraded to perform a wider range of missions, including close air support and bombing runs. The F-16, which a civilian can buy, was developed into a plane that demonstrated its versatility during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when it bombed Iraqi facilities and also shot down an Iraqi MIG. To date, more than 4,500 F-16s have been produced.

Read more: Top 10 WWII Fighter Planes, Ranked

Which high-tech jet is replacing Denmark’s F-16?

Denmark is replacing the last of its F-16 aircraft with the F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, which the Danes have been using since arriving there in 2023. On the first day of April 2025, Denmark’s F-35s took over from their F-16s in NATO’s Rapid Reaction Al. In total, the Danish Ministry of Defense has purchased a total of 43 F-35s, 27 of which were ordered in 2016 and 16 more aircraft in 2025. The F-35A is a single-seat aircraft powered by a Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engine rated at 40,000 horsepower.

Denmark’s switch to a full fleet of F-35A Lightning IIs will make the Royal Danish Air Force the third air force in the world, behind Norway in 2022 and the Netherlands in 2024, to have an entire fleet of fifth-generation fighters, all of which are F-35As. They have all replaced their obsolete F-16s with these sophisticated, multirole fighters. The replacement process took as long as it did because of major delays in F-35 production for various militaries around the world.

The F-35, which comes in several variants with different features, is built in three different versions for different use cases. The F-35A, the version used by the US Air Force and Denmark, is designed for conventional takeoff and landing. Built for the US Marine Corps, the F-35B has a short takeoff and vertical landing capability. The F-35C, produced for the US Navy, is optimized for launching and landing from Navy aircraft carriers.

What will happen to Denmark’s F-16 fleet?

Denmark’s fleet of F-16 fighter jets is moving to two different locations. Although these F-16s are very old, with the first batch in the 1980s, the Danes have not only maintained them very well, they have also modernized them over the years. These actions have helped make these aircraft more suitable for sale rather than scrapping.

A group of F-16s will be donated to Ukraine, with Denmark agreeing to donate 19 aircraft to the Ukrainian Air Force in 2023. The first of Denmark’s F-16s, one of Ukraine’s many types of fighter jets, arrived in Ukraine in August 2024. Denmark has also promised to help Ukraine in the form of training that Denmark needs. For maintenance and operation of these aircraft after reaching Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force uses its F-16s primarily to defend the country against Russian drones and missiles, as well as to drop precision-guided bombs to provide close air support.

24 of Denmark’s F-16s will be sold to Argentina, which has no supersonic fighters in its arsenal since the country withdrew French Mirages in 2015. The US government was heavily involved in the deal because of its export regulations. Argentina’s F-16 package also includes training, parts and simulators to ensure proper maintenance and operation of the Argentine Air Force’s ‘new’ F-16s. The first six aircraft were delivered in December, with additional batches each year through 2028.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.