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The first F-16 fighter jets are due to be delivered to Ukraine in July. However, there are increasing voices in the country expressing reservations about possible deployments.
Kiev – Ukrainian officials are cautious about the upcoming deployment of the F-16 fighter jets that will be delivered in the coming weeks. According to a report in the Ukrainian newspaper KyivPost Several government officials and military officials speak of risk minimization and unprepared infrastructure in connection with the F-16 fighter jets supplied by the Netherlands.
Vadym Ivchenko, a member of the Committee for National Security, revealed new information to a Ukrainian TV station. “The first F-16s will arrive this month,” said Ivchenko. He sees the area of operation initially as “defense against enemy missiles and not against targets in Russia.”
F-16 fighter jets soon to be deployed in Ukraine – Ivchenko on existing problems: “Many questions remain unanswered”
Just over a year ago, in May 2023, the US approved the delivery of dozens of European-owned F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force. The agreement also includes the training of pilots and ground personnel. Due to the clear inferiority of the Ukrainian Air Force to the Russian Air Force, the Russian military has so far been able to control Ukrainian airspace almost without resistance. Moscow has mainly used low-flying bombers.
The F-16 fighter jets are now supposed to help break Russia’s air dominance. According to Ivchenko, however, only short-range missions are planned for now, and attacks on Russian bomber bases are not yet being considered. Many questions are still open, Ivchenko said on Ukrainian television, including “which radar devices the planes will be equipped with.”
F-16 fighter jets in the Ukraine war: training of personnel almost completed
The training of the personnel is now almost complete. Pilots were trained in Romania and the USA, and ground personnel completed training in Denmark. The Ukrainian Air Force should therefore, at least theoretically, be able to have up to twelve F-16s in operation at the same time by the beginning of July. However, military analysts are more likely to say that possible missions would initially have to be smaller. The optimal F-16 formation size is two to four aircraft, In addition, experienced pilots are needed to lead the formations.
Another problem is the poor runways, many of which date back to the Soviet era. Runways that are partly made of grass and gravel due to Russian attacks are hardly suitable for the safe use of the F-16. Ukrainian MP Marjana Besuhla publicly criticized the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyj. He had not prepared the ground infrastructure for the arrival of the F-16 aircraft, it was said in a statement.
Ukraine war: Difficulties with the infrastructure for the new F-16 fighter jets
A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military would “do everything” to protect the airfields from future enemy attacks. The task of deploying the new aircraft is made even more difficult by the Russian threat to the airfields and bases.
The aim is now to prevent attacks on the new aircraft. “We know that the enemy will hunt them. That is why a whole series of measures are being planned,” said the spokesman. The actual readiness of the F-16 ground systems is a military secret. The Ukrainian Air Force is aware of the threat and will now take “certain steps.”
War in Ukraine: Selenskyj expects strengthening of air defence by F-16 fighter jets
Brigadier General Sergei Holubstov said in early June that the F-16s would be “protected” in part by being in the NATOarea if there was no safe place for them in Ukraine. However, this does not necessarily mean that missions will be flown from NATO bases, as NATO subsequently explained.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was more optimistic about the use of the F-16. He expects a strengthening of air defense in his country, he said in a video message on Monday. The promised F-16 fighter jets in sufficient quantity and quality, Patriot air defense systems and longer-range missiles would have a decisive influence on the course of the war, said Zelensky. Ukraine could receive even more protection of its airspace from the aggressor Russia this month. (fmu)
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