Netherlands to send eight F-35 fighters to Poland by end January

Eight F-35 fighters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force will arrive in Poland at the end of January to increase the defence capabilities of NATO's eastern flank, the Euractiv website reported on Tuesday.

Four fighters will be used to observe NATO's eastern airspace. Another four F-35s will be used in an allied training programme to increase NATO's presence on the eastern flank and promote cooperation between its members, the website wrote.

"With eight fighter jets, the Netherlands contributes to the defence of NATO's eastern flank," the Dutch Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

The preparations of the Royal Netherlands Air Force to deploy eight multi-role F-35 fighters in Poland were announced at the beginning of January by the allied air force command in Ramstein.

As reported, the planes will be stationed at the 22nd Tactical Air Base in Malbork, northern Poland, where allied fighters from Portugal, Turkey and Italy were previously stationed.

Earlier in January, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that hundreds of US military vehicles would arrive in Vlissingen, from where they would be transferred to Eastern Europe.