Ukraine has taken its first batch of American-supplied F-16 fighter jets, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A Ukrainian air force base was named, but its location was not stated. At an unnamed airbase, President Zelensky stated, “F-16 in Ukraine. We did it,” though he said more were needed.
The president of Ukraine expressed his gratitude, followed by what used to be quite reluctant contributors some time ago.
This time, official information revealed that the jets have arrived; this means a great achievement in the process of enhancing the Ukrainian Air Force, mainly equipped with old Soviet jets.
It is anticipated and expected that in the coming months more F-16s are to arrive and are much looked forward to in the country, but Mr. Zelensky also mentioned that at the moment, Ukraine lacks enough trained pilots for them.
He did not indicate how many planes have landed in Ukraine or whether they were all from Denmark, the Netherlands, and the US—nations that he named with gratitude.
Since US President Joe Biden sanctioned other NATO countries willingness to send them to Ukraine in August 2023, about 65 F-16s have been committed.
It is worth stating that worldwide, the F-16 was introduced in 1978. Mention many Western militaries are in the process of phasing out the increasingly obsolete fourth-generation aircraft, upgrading them with the F-35, the US-developed aircraft introduced in 2015.
The UK does not have F-16s in its air force inventory, although it is supplying long-range Storm Sharp missiles that can be installed on the jets.
Ukraine’s F-16 jets will be operating along with a handful of western-supplied MANPADS like Patriot and Nasams already in use.
Technically, if F-16s could carry rockets, bombs, and missiles, then one should expect more hits deeper into occupied territory and probably at the Russian border.
