"Trial batch": expert explains when F-16s will be in Ukraine and whether they will strengthen air defense

The first F-16 fighters to arrive in Ukraine are likely to be a test batch that will practice strengthening the air defense of our critical facilities in the west or east. The military command and our Western partners will analyze how best to deploy these first aircraft and how best to protect them.

The defense forces will receive, at best, a squadron, and perhaps even just a few units, i.e. 6-12 aircraft. Therefore, we should not expect a dramatic change in the situation at the front after the first fighters are delivered. Pavlo Lakiychuk, a military expert and head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI", said this in a commentary to OBOZ.UA.

"We think that F-16s will close the air defense of our cities, close our energy facilities, they will strike at the enemy Su-34 on the front line, and protect us from the CABs. Some people say it would be great if we put a Storm Shadow on them and they bomb the Crimean Bridge. But this is not quite true," the expert said.

To perform all the tasks we would like the Air Force to perform, we need at least fifty of these aircraft, Lakiychuk believes. The Air Force's request, partially voiced by the president, is for 120-150 units.

Such a number of F-16s will be in Ukraine for at least a year or two, and if we take into account that there will be combat losses in any scenario, then perhaps even later.

According to the expert, the timing of the arrival of the first fighters in Ukraine will depend on how they will be delivered.

"If they fly on their own, then today they took off in Belgium and two hours later landed, for example, at Lviv airport. I'm speaking figuratively. And if they are delivered covertly by rail or in any other way, in a disassembled or semi-disassembled state, it will take much longer. It's a long way, assembling, disassembling, checking, and it can take weeks," Lakiychuk said.

According to him, if the pilots, technical staff and aviation infrastructure are already prepared, the F-16 can be used to protect our airspace right on the day it arrives.

"But the question is what functions these first units will perform. It seems to me that for both our Air Force and our partners, this is the first squadron, and it is a test batch. We will see how to use them most effectively, how to protect them most effectively, and, in fact, what to do next, what changes to make to the training program and the deployment of units with new equipment in Ukraine," the expert said.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Ukraine will be able to use F-16 fighter jets provided by partner countries this summer. These planes will help the Ukrainian Defense Forces to defend our country from Russian aggression, said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

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