The first US-designed F-16 fighter jets have been widely reported to have arrived in Ukraine, but the Kyiv government has remained tight-lipped about the long-requested aircraft.
Lithuania’s foreign minister appeared to confirm that F-16 multirole fighter jets have arrived in Ukraine, following days of unsubstantiated claims by anonymous sources that the long-awaited aircraft had arrived in Ukraine.
Associated Press Announced this week Ukrainian officials could not comment publicly on the arrival of the F-16 fighter jets because they were ordered not to discuss the matter publicly. Reuters on the other hand, U.S. government sources agree.
Ukraine receives tanks, advances talks for jets, submarines, long-range missiles https://t.co/YwWlSy6Vt5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 29, 2023
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government itself has remained cautious about the aircraft, neither confirming nor denying it and only making indirect references to the fighter jets. Ukrainian state media simply reported that “there are unofficial public comments and confirmations that Ukraine has already received the first batch of F-16 fighter jets,” but otherwise stated only that “by the end of 2024, Ukraine plans to have a total of 20 F-16 aircraft.”
The Ukrainian government, via its official news agency, also cited a statement by former British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps this week, who said that “the arrival of the F-16s in Ukraine marks a defining moment for President Putin and his Su-35s.”
F-16 fighter jets have been on Ukraine’s shopping list of military equipment to acquire since Russia resumed its invasion of the country in 2022, but the campaign to acquire the fighter jets accelerated from January 2016, and large deliveries of arms from Western countries apparently convinced Kiev that such a transfer was possible. The United States was extremely reluctant to send F-16s from the start, as an extremely powerful weapons system would be a gift from Washington if introduced into a conflict, with a clear opportunity for it to escalate.
Send in the fighter jets: Ukraine seeks air superiority after securing tanks https://t.co/07tZN4My6m
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 26, 2023
But as with many other donations of tanks and advanced cruise missiles to Kiev, as the war dragged on and NATO nations became more involved in the conflict, what was once considered impossible eventually became possible: as early as February 2023, Ukraine was claiming that “the aircraft exist,” and by July 2023, the so-called Jet Coalition had been established to make it possible.
Perhaps crucial to the de-escalation controls built into the gift of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is that the aircraft being delivered are coming from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway. This is significant because none of the aircraft headed for Ukraine are being gifted directly from the United States, a distance that is further established by the fact that these four countries are not importing F-16s from the United States in the first place.
Rather, when Ukraine acquired F-16s in the 1970s and 1980s, they were produced under license at two European factories, and it’s entirely possible that the F-16s that reportedly arrived in Ukraine this week were produced as recently as the 1990s at the Fokker factory in Amsterdam’s Schiphol facility.
So far, the numbers involved are small, probably around six aircraft. Ukraine has repeatedly said it needs 120-130 F-16s to have a significant impact on the war, but so far only 60 have been promised.
Netherlands allows Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets to attack Russian soil, Kremlin warns of ‘deadly consequences’https://t.co/N17u8ETe0Q
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 3, 2024
For now, the biggest limiting factor is pilots. Ukraine may have only around 20 qualified F-16 pilots by the end of the year, and even experienced pilots have a lengthy training period. Western countries, including the UK and the US, are helping with training, and an F-16 training school has been established in Romania to speed up training.
Air Force Magazine Quote Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa, said the arrival of the F-16s was important for Ukraine, but not an immediate solution. He was quoted as saying: “It’s not going to be some kind of panacea where all of a sudden, F-16s come in, go out and gain air superiority. What they’re up against is an integrated air and missile defense system.”
Indicative of the roles the F-16s will be used in are the weapons provided to Ukraine, which include Sidewinder missiles for shooting down other aircraft, HARM missiles used to destroy enemy radar sites for suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), and air-dropped bombs for ground attacks.
Anticipating the arrival of the F-16s, we have seen changes in behavior on both sides. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian air defenses, making it harder for Moscow to shoot down the new planes as they arrive. Meanwhile, Russia has been bombing airfields in Ukraine that could accommodate F-16s, making it harder for them to be deployed there. Ukraine has derided Russia for carrying out missile attacks on unused airfields in the past, but there may be some logic in this madness.
Regardless of whether steps are taken to distance the United States from donating F-16s, the risk of Russian retaliation remains, and Russia has made similar threats in the past. In February 2023, when the F-16 donation was first seriously discussed, officials in Moscow expressed the belief that it would be “ridiculous” for Western countries to send the fighter jets without inflaming tensions.
“Is the French president really convinced that supplying the Kiev regime with weapons, heavy artillery and aircraft for combat operations will not make things worse?” Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time. “I can’t believe that adults are capable of such logic.”
Zelenskyy claims Netherlands will send entire fleet of F-16 fighter jets after meeting with Dutch PMhttps://t.co/n4EzXTUR73
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 20, 2023
