Since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces have repeatedly asked the West for supplies modern fighter aircraft to deal with it Russian air superiority. Kiev wants reliable fighter aircraft with good radar, robust electronic self-defense systems and compatibility with a wide range of long-range munitions. All of this is presumably provided by the F16Made in the USA.
But for months the administration of Joe Biden and its European partners rejected this request because, in the eyes of the United States, it represented a serious escalation of the conflict Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over time, conditions changed and gradually the United States came to believe that Moscow's victory was inevitable without additional weapons for Ukraine. Eventually, Washington decided to authorize the supply of F-16 fighter jets to other countries to which it had sold its F-16s in the past.
The first to join the beginning announced coalition were Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands They offer Ukraine up to 60 F-16 aircraft. If this delivery goes through, it will help Kiev bolster its current fleet based on old Soviet-era fighters, of which it had about 125 at the start of the war. The list of countries participating in this coalition has now been added Norwaywhose defense minister has announced that he will deliver two fighter jets Lockheed Martin F-16 and a team of flight instructors to support the training of Ukrainian pilots in Denmark. There are currently no plans to hand over the surplus F-16s to Zelensky's forces. However, officials say pilot education and training is an important part of the Norwegian donation.
Norway has an old F-16 fleet that was decommissioned at the end of 2021. It currently belongs to the club of countries that use fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to defend their airspace. What did you do with the old F-16s? He sold some of them to Romania and stores others. From this final batch, the aircraft will be taken for transport to Skrydstrup Air Base in Denmark, where Ukrainian pilots are already training with the F-16.
After training in Denmark, some of the Ukrainian pilots are expected to be sent there European F-16 Training Center jointly established by the Dutch, Danish and Romanian governments together with F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin in Fetesti, Romania. At Fetesti they will train with F-16s provided by the Netherlands and handed over to the school.
Why the USA doesn't send its F-16s to Ukraine
Although the United States gave the green light to supply F-16s from third countries, it instead refrained from supplying its own. Curiously, it is the Luftwaffe Pentagon The company has hundreds of modern F-16s in storage and plans to retire hundreds of them in the coming years. When the supply of tanks to Ukraine was discussed, the White House was reluctant to transfer them Abrams main battle tank. He finally accepted Ukraine's request only when Germany approved the delivery of its Leopard tanks for the first time. The USA's refusal to send modern fighter jets is not a technical problem, but a political one, observers say. The truth is that The Republican Party has refused to support a $61 billion financial aid package for Kyivand it is feared that if they do well in the elections next November, they will further tighten their conditions to maintain “generosity” towards Ukraine.
What F-16s can do in Ukraine
The first batch of 18 F-16 fighters for Kiev will come from the Dutch Air Force. These devices are equipped with AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, Joint Direct Attack Munition glide bombs, AGM-88 anti-radar missiles and possibly even with Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
However, some observers have drawn attention to the vulnerability of the F-16s being sent to Ukraine. Most are 40 years old. After a few hundred hours of hard flying, the aging structures of these devices could become unsafe for pilots, warns Davis Ax in The Telegraph. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recently took a similar position: Valery Zaluzhnyiby ensuring the F-16s will be “less useful” now than they were a year ago because Russia had time to improve its air defense.