The F-16 aircraft that Ukraine has received are a clear step up from the Soviet-era jets inherited from the USSR, boasting superior radar capabilities and longer range. At the same time, they should not be viewed as a game-changing weapon in the war with Russia, wrote Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Ukrainian NGO “Come Back Alive”, for the Atlantic Council.
However, as of today, Ukraine has received a limited number of jets. Over the coming year, Ukraine will face the task of gradually integrating and expanding its F-16 fleet, says the expert. Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine would require a fleet of 128 F-16 jets.
Also, Ukraine’s F-16 fleet will likely have access to a limited selection of weapons, writes Bielieskov.
“It remains unclear whether Kyiv can count on longer range strike capabilities, despite recent reports that the US has agreed to arm Ukrainian F-16s with American-made missiles and other advanced weapons,” said Bielieskov.
The effectiveness of Ukraine’s new jets will also be constrained by restrictions on striking inside Russian territory. Still, the jets will considerably enhance Ukraine’s ability to prevent Russian attacks, as the F-16 is capable of intercepting cruise missiles in flight.
Nevertheless, F-16s would operate at a distance of at least forty kilometers from the front to be protected from Russian attempts to destroy them with ballistic missiles, said Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskii.
The jets would enhance Ukraine’s air defense amid Russian missile terror but would not change the course of the war, concluded the expert.
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