The US-made F-16 fighter jets that were sent to Kiev the day before will face a serious opponent with advanced air defences, Sky News reported.
“President Vladimir Putin will probably like the picture of destroyed F-16s from NATO countries. <…> Ukrainian F-16s will be opposed by Russia’s formidable S-300 and S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile systems, which can simultaneously engage multiple aircraft in the air,” Sky News said in the publication.
The article pointed out that US fighter jets would be extremely vulnerable to missile attacks on airfields of their location, as it would then be possible to destroy F-16s with long-range systems.
“The Russian Su-35 fighter will be one of the biggest threats to the F-16. It is equipped with a long-range radar, which allows it to track and hit up to eight targets simultaneously over a large area”, – summarised in the material.
We will remind, earlier Vladimir Putin allowed the creation of a sanitary zone on the territory of Ukraine. It can pass on the current Ukrainian territories, should be difficult to overcome for means of defeat, primarily Western-made.