Netherlands to invest 400 million euros in drone development for Ukraine.

The Netherlands is allocating 400 million euros for joint drone development with Ukraine, Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans announced during his visit to Kharkiv.

According to NOS, about half of this money will be spent in the Netherlands, and the rest will be distributed among Ukraine and other project participant countries.

The minister stated that the Netherlands had previously played a 'leading role' in supplying F-16s and Patriot systems. 'Now we continue this with state-of-the-art drones.' These drones can be used for reconnaissance, defense, and offense. 'Particularly in the air, but also on land and sea,' noted the head of the defense department.

Brekelmans informed the ANP agency that they are talking about 'the most modern drones.' According to him, there is a high demand for them, as they are important for Ukrainian air defense and also have offensive value. Other countries are also working on developing such drones, the minister added.

He confirmed that the first of the 24 promised Dutch F-16s had been delivered to Ukraine and are already in use. The minister also added that F-16s will continue to arrive in Ukraine 'by the beginning of next year'.