"The planes are ready": Ukraine's Armed Forces Could Receive First Six of 45 Promised F-16s in July - NYT

Western partners promised to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters at the end of 2023, but the delivery date was constantly postponed. Now it is already July 2024.

At the same time, the Ukrainian army can count on only 6 aircraft out of 45 promised by the middle of this year. This is stated in the article by The New York Times.

The F-16s are already ready at a new training center in Romania, created specifically to train Ukrainian pilots. However, the pilots have not yet arrived, despite Western statements in the summer of 2023 that the training center in Romania plays a crucial role in preparing F-16 pilots for combat operations in Ukraine.

It remains unclear when Ukrainian pilots will start training at the Fetesti air base in southeastern Romania, but this delay is already having a significant impact on the supply of F-16s to Ukraine. However, some Ukrainian pilots are still undergoing training in Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is expected that by the summer of 2024, only six F-16s out of the 45 units promised by European allies will be delivered to Ukraine.

European officials state that there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to when each country will send its F-16s to Ukraine, how many will be sent, and how quickly pilots and maintenance personnel can be trained.

The timeline for training has been shortened as much as possible, but it is still moving more slowly than Ukraine and its allies had hoped. This is largely because pilots trained on Soviet-era aircraft have had to learn English and Western military practices to use the F-16s effectively.

As a reminder, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said that Ukrainian pilots and engineers continue training on American F-16 fighters. The pilots are already practicing tactical techniques, including striking targets. The process of transition to new combat aircraft cannot be quick, but Ukraine is doing everything to speed it up.

Earlier, the British Air Force reported that six Ukrainian pilots had been trained by instructors on Tutor aircraft. They are now training on F-16s.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Danish Prime Minister Matt Frederiksen said that Ukraine has not yet received the promised American-made F-16 fighters solely because of technical issues. At the same time, she assured that the planes to be provided by Denmark would appear in the skies of Ukraine before the beginning of this summer.

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