Ukraine urges Western allies to deliver fighter jets, especially F-16s
The Ukrainian government has repeatedly called on Westerners in recent days to deliver fighter jets to it, including on Wednesday, just after the announcement of heavy tank deliveries from the United States and Germany.
These are particularly the F-16 (Fighting Falcon), old American fighter planes, which are of interest to kyiv. But Washington, like the European capitals, refuses for the moment this type of delivery, believing that it would be crossing a new level in the war.
This prevention, like the one advanced for a time for heavy tanks, could nevertheless not last. ” In December [2022], we had the debate on ground-to-air defence. In January, we had the one on battle tanks. In February, we will have the one on fighter planes ”predicts the entourage of the Minister of the French Armies, Sébastien Lecornu, in an article in the Monde.
According to The Guardian, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on Friday that the F-16s could be the best option to replace the Ukrainian army’s current fleet of aircraft, while this latest uses four types of Soviet-era aircraft, he pointed out. “Pilots say it’s no problem to fly the F-16 (…) Pilots say they could master it in about six months “, pleaded Mr. Ihnat.
On Thursday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh, questioned repeatedly about the possibility of a delivery of F-16s to Ukraine by the United States during a press briefing, kicked into touch several times , emphasizing that it was not a commitment of the United States.
She then advanced the argument of the training necessary for Ukrainians to take control of this type of fighter plane to close the debate: “With the F-16s, again, that’s another difficult system that would require training. (…) More people should [de soldats ukrainiens] leave the battlefield to learn an entirely new system. »