The Washington Post says protecting the F-16 on the ground will also be a challenge.
F-16 fighters should appear in Ukraine within weeks. This was reported by The Washington Post on Sunday, July 28.
The media said there were too few planes, and too many Russian air defense systems. This means that the first F-16 will likely serve to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses by shooting down aerial targets such as missiles, drones and aircraft, rather than attacking Russian troops and military installations. enemy.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine needs more than 100 F-16s to counter Russia’s massive air force. He called the number of fighters Ukraine will receive “not enough.”
Some analysts are more skeptical than Zelensky. According to them, these aircraft can meet urgent needs because they can shoot down enemy aircraft and hit ground targets.
Ukraine also cannot afford to part with a large number of experienced pilots for a long time, as they are needed for combat duty. That is, it is impossible to train many Ukrainian pilots at the same time.
According to a Ukrainian defense official, the F-16 will carry AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles using the NASAMS ground-based air defense system. One variant of the missile has a range of about 100 miles, but Ukraine has very few AIM-120 missiles and has to be shared between the F-16s and NASAMS.
Protecting the F-16 on the ground will also be a challenge, as all Ukrainian airfields are within range of Russian missiles. A Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman said it “seems not possible” for Kyiv to build covered concrete hangars to protect aircraft. Ukraine uses camouflage and even leaves decoys at airports.
The F-16’s advantages include a radar capable of identifying targets up to 125 miles away, making them safer because pilots don’t have to get close to enemy aircraft to shoot them down. .
Syrsky named the limitation for the F-16 on the front line
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Source: korrespondent
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.