The head of aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Golubtsov announced plans to deploy part of the F-16 abroad
Some of the F-16 fighters that the West has promised to provide to the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be stationed at safe airfields outside the country. The chief of aviation of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Sergei Golubtsov, spoke about such plans.
According to him, this is being done to ensure that the planes do not become targets for the Russian army. “This will be our reserve in case of the need to replace faulty aircraft during maintenance work,” the military man explained.
Golubtsov also noted that protecting fighter jets will not be an easy task. He clarified that to cover air bases, at least two batteries of Patriot complexes will be required, as well as two systems of NASAMS air defense systems, and several Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
Our greatest fear is that the Russians will not count the number of Kinzhals and Iskanders in order to hit the F-16s at the airfield
So far, only four countries have confirmed plans to transfer F-16s to Ukraine
The suppliers will be Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. At the same time, Golubtsov expressed hope that the number of states could increase, since almost all F-16 operators are switching to the more modern F-35. He also added that training for fighter pilots is limited by the number of training places on bases, as well as the need to learn English. By the end of the year, as expected, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have only one flight of F-16s (from three to six aircraft) ready for operational operations.
The F-16 is not a panacea, and we are not wearing rose-colored glasses. We understand perfectly well that it will be difficult to gain air superiority with one aircraft
Ukraine may receive more than 60 F-16 fighters this summer
As Politico wrote, the above states plan to send more than 60 F-16s to Kyiv this summer. At the same time, Ukraine demands that the United States and other countries intensify the program for training pilots for combat use of the F-16. It is noted that Kyiv informed Washington that it has 30 pilots who are ready to begin training on American soil.
“The Biden administration told Kyiv that there is not enough space at the Arizona air base to train more than 12 pilots at a time. Two other institutions in Denmark and Romania have a similar problem with available places for study,” three sources told the publication on condition of anonymity.
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Putin promised to destroy F-16s in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the Russian Armed Forces will destroy F-16s in Ukraine in the same way as they destroy Western tanks and other equipment. “If they deliver F-16s, they are talking about it, like they are training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield,” the head of state is convinced. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, indicated that Russia would consider the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv as a deliberate signal to NATO in the nuclear sphere. He added that the supply of fighter jets will not change the situation on the line of combat contact.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that he does not yet know whether restrictions will be imposed on the use of F-16 fighters to carry out strikes on Russian territory. “Their [F-16] there won’t be enough to have parity in the sky with the Russians,” the Ukrainian leader admitted at the same time.
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