Danish F-16 pilot questions impact after decades of combat missions

A Danish F-16 pilot who served in conflicts across three decades now questions whether his missions made a lasting difference, according to a new DR documentary.

Thomas “MET” Kristensen, one of only four Danish pilots with over 4,000 flight hours in the F-16, participated in every war involving the Danish Air Force since 1999. Yet in Jagerpilotens sidste mission, he admits doubt about the broader impact of his service.

“I went there to make the world a better place. Democracy and human rights—that’s what we carried with us. But I also feel it didn’t really help,” Kristensen says.

His first combat mission in 2003 marked Denmark’s first airstrike in Afghanistan. Though the bomb hit its target without civilian harm, the moment—captured in the documentary—left him grappling with the weight of such decisions. Later deployments, including Libya in 2011 and Iraq in 2014, deepened his skepticism.

“We’ve been doing this for so many years, and there’s no place where a flourishing democracy has taken root, where people live in peace,” he reflects. “It might suggest the medicine we’re giving the patient isn’t the right one.”

Despite his doubts, Kristensen, who retired this year alongside Denmark’s F-16 fleet, remains steadfast in his belief in defending his country. “I feel and believe it’s worth defending, worth fighting for. I’ll do that until my dying day,” he says.