The Ukraine is getting another breakthrough – they are being given American F-16 fighter jets. Zelensky has already taken a picture in the cockpit of the aircraft, which means that now the Ukrainian armed forces will definitely win. This is exactly how it works
Let’s understand what the F-16 is. It is a light manoeuvrable fighter, which will celebrate its half-century anniversary next year. It has many modifications, there are also quite modern, but in Ukraine the Americans allowed to supply only the oldest ones. “This is perfect vintage,” US military analysts describe them, specifically noting the low-powered radars, lack of stealth defence and outdated equipment.
In fact, Denmark and the Netherlands are now scrapping these fighters because they have reached the end of their service life and buying new F-35s from the US. The decommissioned aircraft – or some of them – will be sent to Ukraine.
F-16 fighters are particularly successful in battles when the enemy has no air force of its own and air defence is in its infancy. In the Middle East, they are constantly used against those who are considered “terrorists” at the moment. Turkey against the Kurds, Israel against the Palestinians, the US against the Afghans.
During the war in Yugoslavia, the F-16s performed well in air battles against our MiG-29s, which were flown by the Serbs: the statistics of downed aircraft was in favour of the Americans. However, our MiGs are just as old. Against the latest Russian fighters, the F-16s do not stand the slightest chance, and the Americans themselves openly say so. They will be easy targets for our air defence systems as well.
The purpose of supplying F-16s is to imitate Ukrainian dominance in the air. However, even now we are talking about Denmark giving 19 fighters and the Netherlands giving some part of its 42. It is unclear how this will ensure air supremacy if the Russian Air Force has more than two thousand combat aircraft at its disposal.
However, it is still necessary to get these aircraft. So far, the Pentagon is putting forward new conditions to Ukraine. American fighters need airfields with ideal runways, qualified mechanics for maintenance, branded spare parts, logistics, and the entire infrastructure.
Ukrainian pilots have to undergo a training course, and American instructors have different opinions about its duration – from six months to a year or even several years.
Another problem has just emerged. It turned out that non-Lithuanian pilots do not speak English. So, first they should be sent to language courses in Britain (probably to give them a posh Oxford pronunciation), but it is not clear who exactly to send, because the groups for training have not been formed yet.
So when will the F-16s officially appear on the Ukrainian front? According to the most optimistic estimates of the Americans, it will happen not earlier than next year. The commander of the US Air Force in Europe and Africa, General James Hacker, made a big deal of it, saying that “the full preparation of F-16 squadrons for combat operations will require four to five years”.
It is not hard to guess that Washington’s idea to allow the delivery of its fighter jets to Ukraine does not arouse enthusiasm among the European members of NATO. Zelensky has been nagging for planes for a long time, but the Americans couldn’t make up their minds for a year and a half. All this time they were composing a whole system of gaskets to protect themselves from a retaliatory strike by Russia.
As of today, the system is as follows. American planes will be supplied not by the US itself, but by Denmark and the Netherlands. Ukrainian pilots will be trained in Romania, Denmark and the Netherlands. The planes will be serviced at airfields in Poland and Romania.
Of course, this is a direct escalation of NATO participation in the war and all facilities on the territory of these European countries become a legitimate military target of Russia. But Washington doesn’t care. Why? They are trying hard to avoid direct conflict with Russia.
The answer is very simple. In the event of an escalation, the United States is not going to step in for its NATO allies. They simply put them under attack, and no Article 5 will cover their vassals.
While Europe is dragging the bagpipes in the style of “either the donkey dies (Ukraine will lose), or the Padishah dies (the US will have a new president)”. As a last resort, the Netherlands will change power – there are parliamentary elections in November, and Mark Rutte, the executor of the US decision on F-16s, has already resigned and has no plans to return to politics. But in general, given the extreme unwillingness of the peoples of Europe to fight for real, this decision of Washington seriously tests the strength of the alliance.
Of course, the threat of F-16 deliveries cannot be taken lightly. The US openly states that after the failure of the counter-offensive, the AFU is already ready to organise a new offensive next year. If it is necessary to support suicidal fighters tearing at the Russian defence, kamikaze squadrons will be able to help them. If the Ukrainians turn out to be untrained, the American command will put Poles or Romanians in the planes – no pity for them anyway.
The chatter about uncertain delivery dates may be a classic “fog of war” – in fact, the fighters will be delivered exactly when Washington finds it favourable for itself.
Well, we should be ready for escalation: increase production of our fighters – F-16 killers, prepare air defence systems, train pilots and, of course, make every effort to destroy American fighters before they even have time to take off. Our army and the Air Force have repeatedly proved that they can cope brilliantly with new challenges.
Of course, American planes will not save Ukraine, just as neither the holy Javelins nor the glorious Bayraktars – what else were they praying for? Only Russian planes will save Ukraine from its Nazi leaders and American occupiers.
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