Denmark this week officially retired the F-16 after close to 50 years in service.
The Royal Danish Air Force marked the phaseout with a ceremony on Sunday. Denmark flew the F-16 for 46 years, and the aircraft played a central role in the country’s air defense operations up until its recent replacement by the F-35.
The F-35 is now the country’s sole fixed-wing combat aircraft.
Denmark transferred part of its F-16 fleet to Ukraine and is in the processing of delivering the remaining aircraft to Argentina. The U.S. State Department signed off on both reexport moves.
Denmark was one of the four original European NATO allies to join the F-16 program in the mid-1970s, with the others being Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway. It was the smallest buyer of the four nations.
Denmark’s air defenses have been in the spotlight recently as President Donald Trump doubles down on his demand that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, join the U.S.
Last week, two Danish F-35s and a French tanker aircraft were deployed to Greenland for a training mission. The Danish armed forces said the goal is to test operational preparedness in the challenging Arctic environment.
