Zelensky: Ukraine obtains its first F-16 fighter fighters.
NATO nations have also committed to supplying about 65 F-16s.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has received its first F-16 fighter jets built in the United States.
"Ukraine's F-16. At a ceremony held at an undisclosed airbase, President Zelensky declared, "We did it," but he also stated that more needed to be done. The head of Ukraine thanked allies for providing what they had previously been quite reluctant to do. The jets' arrival is a significant step in improving the air force's capabilities in Ukraine, which currently primarily uses outdated Soviet-era aircraft.
The F-16s are expected to assist Ukraine in preventing assaults such as the one that occurred in Kyiv in July.
Though Mr. Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine does not currently have enough qualified pilots to fly them all, more F-16s are anticipated and hoped for in the coming months.
He expressed his gratitude to the US, the Netherlands, and Denmark for sending planes, but he did not say how many had arrived in Ukraine.
Since US President Joe Biden originally gave the go-ahead for willing European partners to send F-16s to Ukraine in August 2023, over 65 of the aircraft have been committed by NATO members.
In 1978, the F-16 made its appearance. Many Western armies are currently replacing their aging aircraft with the US-built F-35, which was first flown in 2015.
The United Kingdom does not possess F-16 aircraft within its air force; however, it does provide long-range Storm Shadow missiles that can be installed on the aircraft.
The small number of Patriot and Nasam surface-to-air missile systems that have already been deployed by the West will coexist with Ukraine's F-16s.
The air force should theoretically be able to launch more strikes deep within occupied territory, maybe even on targets near the Russian border, thanks to the F-16's ability to carry rockets, bombs, and missiles.
They might also aid in the defense against Russian glide bombs, which are comparable to American JDAM weapons but are dumb bombs with pop-out wing kits and direction modules to give precision strike stand-off capabilities.
Approximately 3,000 were dropped in March alone, primarily by fighter-bombers Su-34. It is hoped that if Ukraine can keep its F-16s safe on the ground, they will be able to contribute significantly to forcing Russian planes back until they are unable to use glide bombs to strike Ukrainian ground forces.
President Vladimir Putin issued a warning after Kyiv proposed that it may maintain some F-16s at foreign military installations, stating that any Western facility housing Ukrainian jets would be an acceptable target for Russian military action.
According to experts, the fighters may also give Ukrainian ground forces—which have been under constant bombardment lately, particularly in the eastern Donbas region—much-needed air support.
Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for the Kremlin, had already threatened to "shoot down" F-16s built in the West that were headed for Ukraine. "On the other hand of course, these deliveries will not have a major effect on the progress of events on the front," he stated.
