F-16 fighters: why Ukraine has not yet received them and when it might happen
24 June 2024 13:42
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
The delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine remains one of the most discussed issues in the context of Western military assistance. Estimates of when they will arrive and the reasons for possible delays vary, but Ukrainians already have the impression that they are waiting too long.
Political analyst Igor Reiterovich believes that the deliveries are going according to plan.
“I don’t think we have any hiccups, because all the forecasts and promises made by the countries concerned at least the end of summer 2024,” he said in an exclusive interview with Kommersant,
– he said in an exclusive comment to Kommersant Ukrainian
According to him, there are objective factors, such as pilot training and airfields.
“Everything rests on two organisational issues: pilots and airfields. There may be a situation where we have twice as many aircraft as trained pilots. Therefore, we are working in both areas. As soon as several dozen pilots are trained and able to take shifts, we will get the aircraft,”
– the expert said.
Reiterovich predicts that the first aircraft will be delivered in the summer.
“Some of them will be in Ukraine. A small number, but enough to perform certain combat missions,”
– the political scientist is sure.
Instead, military expert Oleh Zhdanov sees the reasons for the delay in the political sphere.
“I think that the likely date of the F-16’s arrival in Ukraine is the NATO summit in Washington, which will be held in July,” he said,
– he suggests. Obviously, the expert means that the US will need good examples at the summit that American support for Ukraine remains unchanged, despite the fact that Ukraine will not be offered NATO membership.
At the same time, the US is also solving certain tasks of weakening Russia militarily by delaying the summit, Zhdanov adds:
“I think there is a purely political reason for this, which is that the US is giving Putin the opportunity to pull out everything he can militarily from Russia.”
F-16s for Ukraine
The United States has led the Ukrainian Air Force Development Capability Coalition in the management of F-16 multi-role fighters. The Netherlands and Denmark became co-chairs. Last August, Denmark and the Netherlands pledged to provide Ukraine with 61 F-16s. In order for the delivery to begin, Ukrainian pilots and maintenance personnel must be trained and Ukraine must prepare the infrastructure.
on 20 August 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte that Ukraine would receive a total of 42 US F-16s. The day before, Zelenskyy announced that the Netherlands had begun preparations to deliver the first 18 F-16 multi-role fighters to Ukraine.
Although the first aircraft may arrive as early as this year, not all partners are acting so quickly. For example, Belgium plans to deliver most of the aircraft in 2025 [Kommersant], the first group of Ukrainian pilots has now completed their F-16 training in the US and headed to Europe.
