Ukraine Says Kyiv Won’t Receive F-16 Fighter Jets This Year

Ukraine is not going to obtain F-16 fighter jets from its allies this yr as hoped, a spokesman for the nation’s Air Force mentioned late Wednesday, confirming that, as anticipated, the superior planes gained’t play a job within the present counteroffensive.

“It is already obvious that we will not be able to protect Ukraine with F-16 fighters this autumn and winter,” Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman, instructed Ukrainian tv. “We had high hopes for this aircraft,” he added.

Here’s what to learn about Ukraine’s longstanding requests for F-16s.

What is the F-16?

First flown in 1976, the F-16 “Fighting Falcon” is a supersonic fighter jet utilized by militaries in 25 international locations for air-to-air fight and air-to-ground strikes. It is constructed by the American protection contractor Lockheed Martin and producers in Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway.

The jet is broadly thought-about to be versatile, light-weight and cost-effective — with a price ticket of as much as $63 million, relying on the mannequin, in response to some estimates. There are roughly 3,000 in energetic army service worldwide, together with tons of within the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

Why does Ukraine need the jets?

Ukraine has Soviet-era MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets, however has argued that F-16s might allow it to realize air superiority, one thing neither aspect has decisively attained since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine has mentioned F-16s might beef up its air defenses, as frequent barrages of Russian missiles exhaust Kyiv’s ground-launched methods. They would additionally allow Kyiv’s forces to extra successfully fight Russian assault helicopters focusing on Ukrainian tanks and armored automobiles. Without the jets, additionally it is a lot tougher for Ukraine to implement the fight ways of NATO international locations whose forces have been coaching the nation’s army.

Why hasn’t Ukraine obtained F-16s?

For months, President Volodymyr Zelensky and different senior Ukrainian officers had been calling for the United States and different international locations to supply Kyiv with F-16s. But the Biden administration, which should approve any transfers of the American-made planes, had resisted.

Following a push by Britain and the Netherlands, President Biden mentioned in May that he would enable Ukrainian pilots to be educated on the jets, a pointy reversal that moved towards letting different international locations give the planes to Ukraine.

However, American officers have mentioned that Ukraine has recognized solely eight fight pilots — lower than a single squadron — who converse English properly sufficient to start out a interval of coaching anticipated to final a minimum of a yr. About 20 others are being despatched to Britain this month to be taught English.

“Ukrainian pilots will return from the training, and the planes will come back with them,” Ukraine’s international minister, Dmytro Kuleba, mentioned on Thursday. “Maybe they won’t arrive right in the cockpits, but it will be a synchronized process,” he mentioned.

Can Ukraine’s counteroffensive achieve success with out the jets?

The counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June has but to realize a decisive breakthrough within the face of well-entrenched Russian defenses. And Ukrainian pilots is not going to be educated on the superior plane in time to help and defend the bottom forces waging the marketing campaign.

But officers in Ukraine, the United States and Europe, in addition to Western protection analysts, have mentioned in interviews that they consider Kyiv’s marketing campaign might nonetheless prevail with out the jets — although it’s prone to be way more tough.