1/6
Ukraine wants fighter jets – American F-16s, for example.
Contrary to recent pledges for Western tanks, Ukraine has yet to receive concrete offers for modern fighter jets from allies such as the US, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and others. As “The Drive” reports, the attacked country is already preparing for any deliveries.
Because in order to be able to use jets like the US F-16 Fighting Falcons, French Mirage or Rafale fighter planes efficiently against aggressor Russia, not only pilots and maintenance personnel are required – but also well-groomed airfields.
Ukraine is expanding flight infrastructure
“We need to prepare the infrastructure of the airfields so that the pilots can land safely on the runways,” said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Colonel Yuri Ignat at a news conference in Ukraine on Friday. He gave no specifics as to where or how many airfields are planned, or what type of work needs to be done. According to the portal, it is probably about improving the quality of the operating areas and extending the runways.
Because most Western aircraft are designed to operate on much pristine surfaces, carefully cleaned of even small pieces of debris. So, if Ukraine wants Western fighter jets, it needs an infrastructure that matches its operational needs.
West disagrees on deliveries
The Ukrainian air force chief repeated the call for the F-16 jets on Friday. “The F-16 is one of the most popular models in the world and would be the best candidate for the Air Force.” In the west, however, one is still adamant about fighter jet deliveries.
The USA and France have not categorically ruled out delivery. But this needs to be “discussed very carefully,” said Jon Finer, the White House’s deputy national security adviser, on Thursday. France made a similar statement.
The situation is different in Central and Eastern Europe, as the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” writes. Among others, the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki expressed himself positively. “If there is a discussion about a delivery of fighter jets, Poland will vote for it.” Lithuania is also in favor of fighter jet deliveries.
Slovakia is also ready to hand over its eleven Soviet MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. “We are ready to hand over these planes to Ukraine so that it can defend itself and we will not hand them over to anyone. The issue of handing over these planes is currently being considered by the Slovak government,” Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad’ said on Wednesday. (chs)
External Content
Would you like to see this supplementary content (Tweet, Instagram, etc.)? If you agree that cookies are set and data is thereby transmitted to external providers, you can allow all cookies and display external content directly.