Time.news – One supply of aircraft to Ukraine, as Kiev has been asking for a long time, would be a very difficult political decision to put into practice. And it would be even slower than that of tanksof which the West could supply far too many different models (British Challengers, German Leopard 2s, French Leclercs and US Abrams) with negative effects on logistics, maintenance and ammunition supplies.
“The Ukrainians – he explains Gianandrea Gaianidirector of Defense Analysis – they asked for 200 F-16. Already this, a reconversion of the aviation, is an operation that takes years and to do in times of peace. Different supplies would increase the problems”. As for the F-16, “second hand and older versions can be supplied by Norway, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and, of course, the United States. However, Belgium has made it known that it does not intend to sell its fighter planes”.
Italy “could supply planes that are at the end of their service: the Tornados, the Amxes or even some of the Prime Typhoon which in any case Italy, France, Germany and Spain, which gave birth to the project, have never managed to sell on the market. But the same problem applies to all three of these planes: a nightmare of training, maintenance, logistics and bases. It’s not like for a courier to exchange a van of one brand for that of another”.
“A Peacetime Operation”
“To train a pilot on these planes it takes time which at the moment does not seem to exist. We are talking about years both for the training of the pilots and for that of those who have to do maintenance on the ground. In addition to the various weapons on board”. According to Gaiani, “the adoption of a new fighter jet with the necessary support line, training system for pilots and technicians, weapons and electronic equipment takes a few years in a peaceful nation with intact bases and industrial plants. The latter features that Ukraine no longer has, considering that even its armored personnel carriers are sent for repairs and maintenance to plants located in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic”.
Gaiani, whose book “The Last War Against Europe” will be released on February 25, explains that the best solution is “to find Soviet and Russian aircraft on the market, such as those they already have in Ukraine and supply them to Kiev. Both for direct use and for spare parts”. Furthermore, on almost all Western models there are problems with some ‘sensitive’ parts such as electronics and avionics, which are risky to fall into Russian hands. “It is a problem that can be circumvented with a political decision or with interventions before the sale. For example, the US will supply Abrams tanks without some electronic parts and without depleted uranium armor. Making them become vehicles that can ‘get lost’ as happened in Syria without compromising American technology.”