Ukraine will be helped to win the war not by the F-16 fighter, but by the weapon it carries.
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The Telegraph argues that F-16 weaponry should play a decisive role in Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.
The aircraft is compatible with a vast array of missiles and bombs, some of which the United States and other allies have already donated to Ukraine, the report says.
A squadron of F-16s with long-range munitions can hit targets along the entire length of the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, Russian warships in the Black Sea.
At the same time, the aircraft will be able to launch these missiles from a relatively non-dangerous distance, without leaving the air defense “umbrella”.
The role that long-range air strikes can play for military operations in Ukraine cannot be overestimated. We can say this with confidence, because the Ukrainians have already delivered several such blows. Over the course of a year, Ukrainian and foreign experts figured out how to arm Soviet MiG-29s, Su-27s, and Su-24s with some American and European munitions.
The first group of six Ukrainian pilots will probably not complete their F-16 training by next summer, the WP newspaper reported on August 11.
Although the pilots are already fluent in English, according to the publication’s interlocutors, they must take a 4-month language course in Britain to learn the terminology. The training will take place together with ground personnel, as Denmark has requested that entire crews be trained first.
This postpones the start of combat training, which will last six months, to January. The second group of approximately the same size will be ready six months after that, that is, approximately before the end of next year. The Danish Defense Ministry declined to comment on how long the program would take.
The Dutch government is working with Romania to set up a training centre, but this will take some time. A spokesman for the Dutch Defense Ministry said the key issue is the lack of F-16 trainers in Europe as countries are now transitioning to the F-35.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.