It was a pivotal moment for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy watched two F-16 fighter jets roar overhead, after many months of waiting for the combat aircraft that Kyiv hopes will change the dial in the war against Russia.
Flanked by another two of the U.S.-made combat aircraft, Zelenskyy announced on Sunday that the country’s air force had already started operations using the warplanes against Russia.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country,” he said, speaking to military pilots and reporters at an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
“These jets are in our sky and today you see them,” Zelenskyy added, thanking Ukraine’s allies for the supply during the unveiling ceremony on Ukraine’s Air Forces Day. “It’s good that they are here and that we can put them to use.”
A number of Ukraine’s European allies have pledged to send F-16s to Ukraine, and the first batch arrived in the country in late July. It remains uncertain how many of the combat planes were sent to Ukraine.
Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway have agreed to send around 80 aircraft to Ukraine, although the timeline for their delivery varies. Most are not expected until 2025.
U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken said in July that F-16s from Denmark and the Netherlands would be ‘in Ukraine’s skies this summer.’
Kyiv is understandably tight-lipped about the weaponry that its F-16s will be equipped with, as well as the targets of the aircraft. On Sunday, Zelenskyy suggested missions will be kept secret, saying it would be “dangerous” to comment on how the F-16s will be used.
Defense analysts say it’s like they could carry longer-range missiles, giving Ukraine a greater ability to strike Russian forces that are occupying swathes of the south and east of the country.
The first General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon received by Ukraine is seen on the Day of Ukrainian Air Force on August 4, 2024 in Unspecified, Ukraine.
The first General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon received by Ukraine is seen on the Day of Ukrainian Air Force on August 4, 2024 in Unspecified, Ukraine.
Vitalii Nosach | Global Images Ukraine | Getty Images
“The F-16 models that Ukraine has now begun to receive are a clear step up from the Soviet-era jets inherited from the USSR, boasting superior radar capabilities and longer range. At the same time, Ukraine’s F-16s should not be viewed as a game-changing weapon in the war with Russia,” Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the National Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, said in analysis last week.
“One obvious issue is quantity. Ukraine has so far only received a handful of F-16s, with a total of 24 jets expected to arrive by the end of 2024. To put this number into context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated in recent weeks that in order to effectively counter Russian air power, his country would require a fleet of 128 F-16 jets,” Bielieskov noted.
The fledgling F-16 fleet was also likely to have access to a limited selection of weapons, the analyst said, with the aircraft’s effectiveness likely constrained by restrictions on the use of Western weapons against targets inside Russia.
“It remains unclear whether Kyiv can count on longer range strike capabilities, despite recent reports that the U.S. has agreed to arm Ukrainian F-16s with American-made missiles and other advanced weapons,” Bielieskov said. He said the jets’ initial use would be to strengthen the country’s air defenses.
“The jets will considerably enhance Ukraine’s ability to prevent Russian pilots entering Ukrainian air space, and can also target Russian cruise missiles in flight. This is particularly important as Russia has recently demonstrated its growing ability to bypass existing surface-to-air defense systems and strike civilian infrastructure targets across Ukraine,” he said.
© 2024, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Be the first to comment