According to the spokesman of the US National Security Council at the White House, John Kirby, Washington has not yet confirmed or denied statements regarding Ukraine's receipt of the first F-16 fighter jets from Western partners.
Points of attention
- The White House hints at Ukraine's likely acquisition of the first batch of F-16 fighter jets, signaling a significant step in strengthening the country's defense capabilities.
- The US Air Force general emphasizes the advantages of F-16s for Ukraine, including improved use of ammunition and guidance systems, despite not instantly providing air superiority over the Russian military.
- Training Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters is seen as a crucial stage in the cooperation between Ukraine and Western partners, aiming to enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities over the long term.
- The transition to Western weapons and doctrine poses a steep learning curve for Ukraine, with the US estimating a timeframe of half a decade to a decade to fully implement these changes.
- Despite challenges, the US is optimistic about Ukraine's progress in adopting Western military technologies and tactics, which could eventually strengthen the country's defense posture.
Has Ukraine already received the first F-16s?
You need to talk to Ukrainians. Of course, I'm not going to talk about weapons capabilities, - said Kirby.
According to him, the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine takes place in accordance with the agreements reached as a result of the NATO summit in Washington.
We have stated that they will be put into operation by the end of the summer. We have no reason to doubt this, - assured Kirby.
Meanwhile, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielus Landsbergis, announced that Ukraine received the first batch of F-16s.
F-16 in Ukraine. Another impossible thing turned out to be quite possible, - noted Landsbergis.
How the US assesses the potential of the F-16 in service with Ukraine
According to James Hecker, the general of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, the F-16 fighter jets are not able to instantly provide Ukraine with air superiority over the planes of the criminal army of the Russian Federation.
However, according to him, the Air Force of Ukraine will be able to switch to the use of Western-type aircraft and improve the use of Western ammunition.
F-16s won't be a golden bullet when they suddenly have them, but they will now have air superiority. They are up against integrated anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems... This moves them a step in the right direction, - explains Hecker.
He noted that Western partners sent clear signals about Ukraine receiving F-16 F-16 in the coming weeks.
At the same time, Hecker said that Ukraine already has weapons up to the F-16.
They simply drop them from the MiG-29 and Su-24. Now they will have the opportunity to actually release them from the aircraft for which they were designed, which will give them more opportunities to change targets during the flight, etc. - emphasizes the general of the US Air Force.
At the same time, better F-16 guidance systems will allow Ukraine to more effectively use American HARM missiles with the possibility of dynamic target change.
It is known that by the end of this year, the US plans to complete the training of 12 Ukrainian pilots for the F-16.
Hecker emphasized that the criminal army of the Russian Federation currently does not have a significant advantage over Ukraine in the air.
To be honest, they do many things that Ukraine does. They go to low altitudes, get below the radar, fly up, drop a hovering bomb, and then leave. Therefore, both sides resorted to such tactics only because of advanced complex anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, which are on both sides, - notes the American general.
However, as Hecker emphasizes, even with such tactics, the occupation army of the Russian Federation was unable to stop military aid to Ukraine from Western partners.
If they had air superiority, they would "close" the borders of Poland, Romania, and Ukraine... But they don't have air superiority, so they can't do it, - emphasizes the general of the US Air Force.
According to Hecker, changing mindsets from Soviet to Western doctrine, tactics, methods and procedures has a steep learning curve.
We've started this transition to Western weapons, to Western doctrine, to Western equipment, and they're going to be much better partners when they achieve all these capabilities that we're giving them. But it won't happen instantly. We are talking about half a decade or a decade to get to this point. But we started the clock, and I think it's a good start, - emphasized the American general.
