Denmark Is Retiring Its F-16 Fleet – See The High-Tech Jet That's Replacing It

After 46 years of service to the Royal Danish Air Force, Denmark has retired its fleet of F-16 fighter planes as of January 18, 2026. Denmark has used this versatile, but now obsolete, fighter plane since 1980, having bought a total of 77 of these aircraft. A farewell ceremony was held at Skrydstrup Air Base's Hangar 3, where four F-16s landed after performing one final flight over Danish soil. Pilots, technicians, and others who had worked with the F-16s greeted the invited guests, showing off these planes one last time.

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

By emphasizing high speed and agility, the F-16 was intended to be faster and more maneuverable than the fighters it would go up against, with the ability to evade any weapons used against it. The F-16 featured advanced technologies like fly-by-wire and a head-up display. Over time, the F-16 was upgraded to fulfill a wider range of missions, including close air support and bombing runs. The F-16, which a civilian can buy, had evolved into a plane that showed its versatility to great advantage during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when it handled both the bombings of Iraqi facilities and also shot down an Iraqi MIG. To date, over 4,500 F-16s have been produced.

Denmark is replacing the last of its F-16 aircraft with the F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, which has been used by the Danes since the first ones arrived there in 2023. On the first of April 2025, Denmark's F-35s took over from its F-16s in NATO's Quick Reaction Alert mission. In total, the Danish Defense Ministry has bought a total of 43 F-35s, 27 of them ordered in 2016 plus 16 additional planes in 2025. The F-35A is a single-seat aircraft powered by a Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engine with 40,000 pounds of thrust.

Denmark's switch to a full fleet of F-35A Lightning IIs makes the Royal Danish Air Force the third air force in the world, after Norway in 2022 and the Netherlands in 2024, to consist entirely of fifth-generation fighter planes, all of them being F-35As. They have all replaced their obsolete fleets of F-16s with these cutting-edge, multirole fighters. The replacement process took as long as it did due to major delays in producing the F-35 for the various forces around the world. 

The F-35, which comes in many variants with distinct features, is made in three different versions for various use cases. The F-35A, the version which the U.S. Air Force and Denmark uses, is designed for conventional takeoff and landing. The F-35B, made for the U.S. Marine Corps, has a short takeoff and vertical landing capability. The F-35C, produced for the U.S. Navy, is adapted for launching from and landing on the Navy's aircraft carriers. 

Denmark's fleet of F-16 fighter jets are going to two different locations. Even though these F-16s are quite old, with the first batch delivered in 1980, the Danes have not only maintained them very well, they have also modernized them over the years. These actions have helped to make these planes more suitable for sale than scrapping.

One group of F-16s will be donated to Ukraine, as part of the 19 planes Denmark agreed to donate to the Ukrainian Air Force in 2023. The first of the Danish F-16s, one of the many kinds of fighter jets Ukraine has, reached Ukraine in August 2024. Denmark has also pledged to support the costs associated with training of Ukrainian pilots in Denmark, as well as those required for the maintenance and operations of these planes after they reach Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force uses their F-16s primarily to defend the country against Russian drones and missiles, as well as for dropping precision-guided bombs to provide close air support.

A total of 24 of Denmark's F-16s will be sold to Argentina, which has not had any supersonic fighters in its arsenal since the country retired its French Mirages back in 2015. The U.S. Government was heavily involved in this deal due to its export regulations. The Argentinian 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 planes were delivered in December, with additional batches each year through 2028.