F-16 fighter jets have been delivered to Ukraine by Western countries, the Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets took flight in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Sunday, 4 August and will be flying sorties in Ukrainian skies and helping the country’s current fleet of Soviet-era jets to counter Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine has been asking for these fighter jets for a long time. They are supposed to help in the fight against the often devastating Russian air strikes. F-16s can reach up to twice the speed of sound and have a range of just over 3,000 kilometres.
Western countries held off the demand for a long time, for fear that Russia would see this as an escalation. Eventually, several Western countries promised to send F-16s, including the United States, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. In total, it would involve more than 60 aircraft. It is not known which country these first jets will come from, nor how many jets there will be.
Several countries, including Belgium, have trained Ukrainian pilots in recent months to fly the fighter jets. A first group of soldiers has now been fully trained in Romania.
The Russian fleet is estimated to be ten times larger than what Ukraine can expect from its Western partners. The Ukrainian authorities estimate that Ukraine needs at least 130 F-16s to neutralise the Russian air force.
