A measure that will put Putin in trouble: supremacy can pass to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been trying to persuade his Western allies to provide him with F-16 fighter jets since Russia invaded his country 18 months ago.

On August 17, the United States gave its approval to the Netherlands and Denmark to send F-16 fighter jets of their own production to Ukraine.

In this context, Denmark will supply 19 combat aircraft to Ukraine. Six of the planes are scheduled to be delivered to Ukraine by Christmas, eight next year and the remaining five in 2025.

THE NETHERLANDS WILL ALSO SUPPORT

The Netherlands is among the countries that will provide F-16s to Ukraine. Although there is no clear information on the number of aircraft to be delivered, the Dutch Air Force has 42 combat aircraft.

Norway will also provide F-16s to Ukraine, but the donation, the number of aircraft, and the delivery timeframe are still unclear.

TRAININGS THAT BEGIN

Training with F-16 fighter jets for Ukrainian pilots is expected to begin in the US state of Arizona in October.

This training, which will be delivered by the US, is said to complement ongoing training for F-16 pilots and maintenance in Europe. It is not yet clear how many Ukrainian pilots will take part in the US training, but a few pilots and dozens of aircraft maintenance personnel are expected to attend.

32 UKRAINIAN PILOTS SELECTED FOR F-16 TRAINING

The Ukrainian Air Force selected 32 pilots for F-16 training in early August.

Eight of the pilots know enough English to start training on fighter jets straight away, while around 20 pilots are undergoing pilot language training in the UK.

In August, Denmark began training eight Ukrainian pilots in the use of F-16 fighter jets. In addition, 65 Ukrainian personnel will receive training in aircraft maintenance and service.

“AIR SUPERIORITY CAN GO TO UKRAINE”

Commenting on the matter to AA, retired air pilot Lt. Gen. Dr. Erdoğan Karakuş, stating that Russia and Ukraine’s insufficient air power is one of the biggest problems, said: “If the F-16s are delivered to Ukraine, then air superiority can pass to Ukraine. All F-16s are capable of delivering laser-guided bombs. Russian planes don’t have that.” He said.

Karakuş claimed that since Russia does not have a laser-guided bomb-dropping aircraft, it can be easily connected to air defense systems during its dives to hit while attacking from low altitude, and that hundreds of Stinger air defense missiles provided by the US to Ukraine work for this reason and that Russia itself said that they were able to shoot down a large number of planes and helicopters.

“70 PLANES WILL BE GIVEAWAY FOR THE FIRST TIME”

Noting that if the F-16s are delivered to Ukraine, air superiority will gradually pass to Ukraine, Karakuş said: “As far as we know, it is known that around 70 aircraft will be delivered at first and that this will continue later. It is not easy to train pilots for these planes, it takes at least six months”. He used the phrase.

Noting that it is possible that the F-16s will be fully active when the pilots are ready for winter, Karakuş said: “They say they train pilots like it is new, but we know more or less that they have been training F-16 pilots for 2 years. . So these can also come into play in the short term.” he said.

Expressing that 2-3 bases will be needed for the deployment of approximately 70 F-16s, Karakuş drew attention to the fact that these areas must be protected with air defense systems.

Karakuş stressed that they must be careful not to attack the bases where the planes will be stationed, saying: “I think that the Americans and other allies, the NATO allies and those who handed over their planes to Ukraine will also take precautions in these matters. .” saying.

NUCLEAR THREAT

Recalling that Russia had already posed a “nuclear threat” to Ukraine due to weapons supplied by other countries, Karakuş stated that there are similar statements about the F-16s, but that Russia does not have much to do in this direction.

Karakuş pointed out that F-16s dropped laser-guided bombs from high altitudes, explaining that these planes approached at low altitude until they reached the target and therefore could not detect radars or air defense systems.

Noting that it is impossible for air defense systems to see the planes coming from low altitude, Karakuş said that the situation is the same for Russia and this is due to the very flat terrain.

Karakuş stressed that the radars should be placed high in order to see low-flying planes, saying: “To protect even Moscow, they will only protect Moscow if they build towers or buildings at a height of 300 meters, 50 kilometers ahead of Moscow. and place them on top of air defense systems. The terrain is huge. It is not possible for Russia to defend itself against the humblest”. he made the assessment of it. (AA)