The Netherlands and the United Kingdom back in May announced a new initiative to train Ukrainian pilots to fly Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters.

The training program all but guaranteed at least one of Ukraine’s foreign allies would donate surplus F-16s to the war effort. The question was—which? And how many of the nimble, supersonic F-16s would it take to make a difference in Russia’s war on Ukraine?

Three months later, we can answer both questions. As predicted, the Dutch and Danish governments both have pledged to Ukraine many of the F-16s their air forces are putting into storage as new Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters gradually replace them.