The New York Times reports that Ukraine faces significant challenges in deploying its long-awaited F-16 fighter jets this summer. Limited numbers of trained pilots and aircraft constrain their immediate impact on the war.
According to US officials cited in the article, only about 20 Ukrainian airmen are expected to complete training programs in the US, Netherlands, and Denmark this year. Given that air commanders typically allocate at least two pilots per aircraft, Ukraine could fly “only about 10 F-16s, at most, on combat missions this year,” the Times reports.
The arrival of the F-16s comes at a critical juncture in the war, with Russian forces launching intensified attacks along the front lines and on Ukrainian air bases. Yuri Ihnat, a representative for the Ukrainian Air Force, said, “Today, we can already say clearly that we have entered the club of countries that have F-16s. This is a turning point for our nation.”
However, Ukrainian officials acknowledge the limitations they face. Gen. Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aviation of Ukraine’s air force, told Radio Liberty that Ukrainians “do not wear rose-colored glasses” and understand that the F-16 is “not a panacea.” He described the strategy as a three-phase approach of “crawl, walk, run,” adding, “We haven’t learned to crawl yet.”
The Times reports that Russia has been employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to target Ukrainian air bases, including the use of surveillance drones that can evade electronic warfare countermeasures. This has prompted Ukraine to adopt various defensive measures, including the use of decoy aircraft and vintage training planes to hunt Russian drones.
Despite these challenges, Ukrainian officials hope that the F-16s, in coordination with other Western-supplied weapons like Patriot air-defense systems, can help expand areas deemed too dangerous for Russian pilots and provide additional protection for Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
The article notes that the delayed delivery of F-16s has given Russia time to fortify its defenses. Retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula told the Times, “We gave them time to dig in and establish defenses that are now much more difficult to unravel.”
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