Ukraine may receive the first F-16 fighter jets "within weeks" from an unnamed country.
When the F-16 fighters arrive
The British publication Evening Standard, citing a "high-ranking military source", writes that F-16s may arrive in Ukraine "in June-July".
It is not known which country will hand over the planes.
The publication recalls that Ukraine sought American F-16 fighter jets to counter Russian air superiority during more than two years of war.
A number of Western countries offered to hand over their planes, and the manufacturer, the United States, supported this decision.
As you know, the international coalition to supply Ukraine with F-16 to strengthen air defence was led by the Netherlands. They promised to deliver 24 F-16s.
In April, the country transferred three more F-16 fighter jets to a training center in Romania, where Ukrainian pilots and ground personnel are trained to fly and maintain the aircraft.
Denmark, Norway and Belgium are also involved in the coalition.
F-16 for Ukraine: what is known
At the beginning of May, it became known that the F-16s, which Ukraine will receive from Western partners, will be armed with modern and highly accurate French AASM Hammer aerial bombs.
The AASM is an upgrade kit for conventional free-fall unguided aerial bombs. The range of the Hammer is approximately 70 km. Modularity provides for the possibility of integration of different guidance units and different air bombs.
Ukraine already uses these bombs on Soviet aircraft.
Earlier, the spokesman of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ilya Yevlash, reported that Ukraine could receive the first F-16 fighter jets from Western partners after Easter.
At the same time, Yevlash noted that the Air Force of Ukraine prefers not to name the exact dates of the arrival of American fighter jets to Ukraine, as the planned dates have already been changed several times.
