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After months of asking, Ukraine finally got the West to shift its stance on outfitting its air force with F-16s. But the fourth-gen fighter jets won't necessarily be a game-changer or give Ukraine air superiority. But the right weapon systems may allow F-16s "to strike targets that Ukraine might not otherwise be able to hit." "The decision to give Ukraine F-16s is not about helping it survive the next phase of the war, but helping it ensure its sovereignty in the long term." Two US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons US Air Force photo by Tech.
Persons: , Biden, David Kujawa, Pat Ryder, Ryder, Tannehill, Charles Vaughn, Kevin Gruenwald, Matthew Lotz, JASSMs Organizations: US Navy, Service, RAND Corporation, US Air Force, Alpena Combat Readiness, Center, Pentagon Press, Air Force, RAND, AIM, Alabama Air National Guard, Air, Controller, Mirgorod Air Base, Tech, Incirlik Air Base, Staff of, Armed Forces, Fighting Falcons US Air Force, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Michigan, Denmark, Netherlands, Europe, Ukrainian, California, Kyiv, Turkey, Russian, Crimea
Ukraine has repeatedly asked the US for fourth-generation fighter jets like the F-16. A former F-16 pilot said these jets don't have a fighting chance given Russia's air defense systems. One former F-16 pilot told Insider he wouldn't want to attempt to fly missions over Ukraine right now, asserting that the aircraft can't outmatch Russia's air defense systems. Fourth-generation fighters "have no business in a modern-day battlefield," John Venable, a 25-year veteran of the US Air Force, told Insider in a recent interview. F-16 fighters would likely be outmatched by Russian air defense systemsThe airspace above Ukraine remains contested after 14 months of war.
Those calls center on the US-made F-16, which proponents say will boost Ukraine's air force. But Russia would notice if Ukraine began modifying its airbases to support F-16s, one expert says. Despite being numerically and technologically outmatched by Russian aircraft and air-to-air missiles, Ukraine's air force has proven remarkably resilient and resourceful. But so far, Russia has chosen to not to use its limited stockpile of long-range missiles against Ukrainian airbases because Ukrainian airpower "doesn't pose a massive threat," Bronk said. US Air National Guard crews replace a part on an F-16 at Ukraine's Mirgorod Air Base in July 2011.
Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.
Members of the US Air National Guard have been providing advice for using US-made weaponry. Despite US support, Ukraine's air force is still at a disadvantage against Russia's larger force. Ukraine's air force still faces a tough operating environment. A California Air National Guard officer discusses exercise Safe Skies with his Ukrainian counterparts in July 2011. Ukrainian Air Force via Twitter"We've just got them some precision munitions that have some extended range and go a little bit further than a gravity-dropped bomb," Hecker added.
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