# Ukrainian pilots had started flying F-16s for operations over Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighters.
Zelenskyy announced the supply of the warplanes, which Kyiv has lobbied for since the first year of the war, nearly two and a half years ago, as he met with the F-16-trained air force pilots.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country,” he said, flanked by two F-16s with two more flying overhead at a location that authorities asked not to be disclosed for security reasons.
Zelenskyy also said it had taken hundreds of meetings and unrelenting diplomacy to obtain the F-16s.
“We often heard ‘it is impossible’ as an answer but we still made our ambition, our defensive need, possible,” said the Ukrainian president.
The fighter jets may be able eventually to tip the scales in favor of Ukraine in terms of the desperately needed air superiority, although it remains unclear how much of an immediate impact they will have. As Zelenskyy himself admitted, Ukraine still did not have enough F-16s or pilots trained to use them.
“The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s, […] that many guys are now training,” he said, adding that it is important that Kyiv’s allies find ways to expand the training programs and opportunities for both Ukrainian pilots and engineering teams.
# Leveling the playing field
From the outset of the war, Ukraine had to rely on an aging fleet of Soviet-era warplanes, occasionally supplemented by its NATO allies and former Warsaw Pact members, such as Poland and Slovakia, which continue to phase out the legacy equipment in favor of modern Western systems.
This meant Kyiv was significantly outgunned by Russia’s more advanced and far more numerous fleet.
Russia has used that edge to conduct regular long-range missile strikes on targets across Ukraine and also to pound Ukrainian frontline positions with thousands of guided bombs.
It remains unclear what missiles Ukraine’s new fighter jets are equipped with, but according to military analysts, longer-range missiles would allow them to have a greater battlefield impact.
Source: Reuters, TVP World
Beautiful. Put those falcons to work and punish those Russians.
From what we know so far, the jets will be equipped with air-to-air missiles AMRAAM, AIM-120 and AIM-9. I’m really hoping for some sufficient amount of air-to-surface missiles in order to have an impact on the battlefield
Asking due to my ignorance about the current status. Are they really going to be able to use them effectively? What is stopping Russia not bombing them when they are landed, assuming they are landed on Ukraine.
Worth stating already that while these will probably help Ukraine quite a bit, they probably won’t be a huge gamechanger like for example HIMARS (unless Russian air defences are even more incompetent than thought). Especially when the numbers are quite low for now (10 now, 20 by end of year, if I remember correctly.)
Also, they will fly risky missions in a very dangerous airspace, so some of them will almost certainly be shot down. Russia will surely have a huge propaganda parade once they manage shoot down one, but that doesn’t mean that the F-16s aren’t valuable and useful for Ukraine.
Edit: Also as other comments have pointed out, the F-16s provide a valuable platform for launching Western missiles etc. which they use natively, whereas Ukraine’s Soviet jets require all sorts of improvised jerry-rigged changes to use Western systems, or cannot use them at all.
It wont turn the tide, it will slightly help ukraine as every weapon has done.
Be free little birdie!
These are older F-16 models with somewhat outdated tech that won’t be able to challenge e.g. MiG-35s (Edit: or more likely Su-35s and Su-57s) due to their inferior radar and lower range missiles.
They will initially be used to mop up cruise missiles to take the pressure off the ground based air defence (and as they use different missiles they help persevere GBAD stocks).
Maybe they get a lucky ambush kill or two, but to really challenge Russian air superiority Ukraine would need newer F-16 models with better radars and missiles.
If Ukraine doesn’t turn the tide of war, Europe will take the estafette
Nobody in Ukraine ties victory with F-16’s
You need some balls to hold a press conference standing next to an F-16 in plain sight in Ukraine.
It won’t be the plane itself but the training of the pilots, the new tech including the helmet and the supply with NATO ammunition which makes a difference in a close up comparison.
Plane model from 50 years ago, with no stealth, incapable of avoiding Russian AA, and severely outclassed by Russian fighter jets. It won’t turn the tide of the war, in fact it will likely even help the Russians when they start shooting them down and showing the videos to break down morale in the Ukrainians and the west.
Where in this article Zelenskyy says about “changing tide of war”. Cheap article by cheap outlet.
Ukrainians understand from previous pitfails that there’s no one weapon that could change the whole tide of war. People have learned by sad reality.
Although some politicians, and outlets still trying to sell it and show off the F-16 before their real achievements. Go to hell, you are the problem. Pathetic.
“Turn the tide”™ this is why no one takes journalists seriously.
The paltry no of F-16s delivered will help the UA Air force stay in the fight, nothing more.
16 comments
# Ukrainian pilots had started flying F-16s for operations over Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighters.
Zelenskyy announced the supply of the warplanes, which Kyiv has lobbied for since the first year of the war, nearly two and a half years ago, as he met with the F-16-trained air force pilots.
“F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country,” he said, flanked by two F-16s with two more flying overhead at a location that authorities asked not to be disclosed for security reasons.
Zelenskyy also said it had taken hundreds of meetings and unrelenting diplomacy to obtain the F-16s.
“We often heard ‘it is impossible’ as an answer but we still made our ambition, our defensive need, possible,” said the Ukrainian president.
The fighter jets may be able eventually to tip the scales in favor of Ukraine in terms of the desperately needed air superiority, although it remains unclear how much of an immediate impact they will have. As Zelenskyy himself admitted, Ukraine still did not have enough F-16s or pilots trained to use them.
“The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s, […] that many guys are now training,” he said, adding that it is important that Kyiv’s allies find ways to expand the training programs and opportunities for both Ukrainian pilots and engineering teams.
# Leveling the playing field
From the outset of the war, Ukraine had to rely on an aging fleet of Soviet-era warplanes, occasionally supplemented by its NATO allies and former Warsaw Pact members, such as Poland and Slovakia, which continue to phase out the legacy equipment in favor of modern Western systems.
This meant Kyiv was significantly outgunned by Russia’s more advanced and far more numerous fleet.
Russia has used that edge to conduct regular long-range missile strikes on targets across Ukraine and also to pound Ukrainian frontline positions with thousands of guided bombs.
It remains unclear what missiles Ukraine’s new fighter jets are equipped with, but according to military analysts, longer-range missiles would allow them to have a greater battlefield impact.
Source: Reuters, TVP World
Beautiful. Put those falcons to work and punish those Russians.
https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/s/PUOeVS9zh1 here is a trailer video + zelensky speech
From what we know so far, the jets will be equipped with air-to-air missiles AMRAAM, AIM-120 and AIM-9. I’m really hoping for some sufficient amount of air-to-surface missiles in order to have an impact on the battlefield
Asking due to my ignorance about the current status. Are they really going to be able to use them effectively? What is stopping Russia not bombing them when they are landed, assuming they are landed on Ukraine.
Worth stating already that while these will probably help Ukraine quite a bit, they probably won’t be a huge gamechanger like for example HIMARS (unless Russian air defences are even more incompetent than thought). Especially when the numbers are quite low for now (10 now, 20 by end of year, if I remember correctly.)
Also, they will fly risky missions in a very dangerous airspace, so some of them will almost certainly be shot down. Russia will surely have a huge propaganda parade once they manage shoot down one, but that doesn’t mean that the F-16s aren’t valuable and useful for Ukraine.
Edit: Also as other comments have pointed out, the F-16s provide a valuable platform for launching Western missiles etc. which they use natively, whereas Ukraine’s Soviet jets require all sorts of improvised jerry-rigged changes to use Western systems, or cannot use them at all.
It wont turn the tide, it will slightly help ukraine as every weapon has done.
Be free little birdie!
These are older F-16 models with somewhat outdated tech that won’t be able to challenge e.g. MiG-35s (Edit: or more likely Su-35s and Su-57s) due to their inferior radar and lower range missiles.
They will initially be used to mop up cruise missiles to take the pressure off the ground based air defence (and as they use different missiles they help persevere GBAD stocks).
Maybe they get a lucky ambush kill or two, but to really challenge Russian air superiority Ukraine would need newer F-16 models with better radars and missiles.
If Ukraine doesn’t turn the tide of war, Europe will take the estafette
Nobody in Ukraine ties victory with F-16’s
You need some balls to hold a press conference standing next to an F-16 in plain sight in Ukraine.
It won’t be the plane itself but the training of the pilots, the new tech including the helmet and the supply with NATO ammunition which makes a difference in a close up comparison.
Plane model from 50 years ago, with no stealth, incapable of avoiding Russian AA, and severely outclassed by Russian fighter jets. It won’t turn the tide of the war, in fact it will likely even help the Russians when they start shooting them down and showing the videos to break down morale in the Ukrainians and the west.
Where in this article Zelenskyy says about “changing tide of war”. Cheap article by cheap outlet.
Ukrainians understand from previous pitfails that there’s no one weapon that could change the whole tide of war. People have learned by sad reality.
Although some politicians, and outlets still trying to sell it and show off the F-16 before their real achievements. Go to hell, you are the problem. Pathetic.
“Turn the tide”™ this is why no one takes journalists seriously.
The paltry no of F-16s delivered will help the UA Air force stay in the fight, nothing more.