He admits, however, that it had been in the works for some time. “I think the countries at this Vilnius summit – where there is still a disappointing story for Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky – are falling over each other with all kinds of arms commitments.”
‘Countries falling over each other at this NATO summit’
For example, France has promised supplies of SCALP missiles, equivalent to the British Storm Shadow missiles. “You have to shoot a plane, but it can reach 250 kilometers.”
F-16
Whether they can also be attached to the F-16, Bolder doesn’t dare say. What is true, however, is that this can only be considered when the planes are actually delivered, which will only happen after full training. Side-note logic, says Bolder. The problem is not so much the pilots, but the technical support. “For every hour an F-16 flies, there are ten hours of key manpower,” Bolder explains. “Ten guys working on it for an hour or one guy working on it for ten hours. And this is a huge logistical operation.’
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More so if you have to work with older F-16s and let the F-16s made available by the Netherlands belong to that older type. “Some are even forty,” Bolder continues. “We got our first F-16s in 1979 and they are still airworthy after the upgrades. Ukraine can certainly use it well.’
Bolder points out that all instructions are also in English, while not all Ukrainians speak that language the same way. “It takes a lot of time.”
station
Also, according to Bolder, careful consideration should be given to where the supplied F-16s will be stationed if the maintenance capability does not yet exist. After all, they can’t be placed separately in each country, he thinks. “If they took off from Poland, Poland would immediately go to war with Russia, but if Ukraine wants to deploy them over the front, they have to fly there from Poland,” Bolder says. “Those planes don’t have such long legs, unless they’re carrying fuel. But this in turn limits the maneuverability, and therefore the payload. So they will have to leave from the Ukraine».
And so the same system could be set up as was done for Western tanks, Bolder thinks. “Although it is technologically easier to maintain a tank than an F-16.”