In August of last year, several NATO countries announced that fighter jets of the F-16 model will be delivered to Ukraine.
Almost a year later, in early July, the Netherlands announced that it had granted export licenses for 24 fighter jets and seven engines, according to the public service company NOSE. But exactly when they will be delivered is still unclear.
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What could the F-16 mean for Ukraine?
When it became clear last year that the F-16 would be delivered to Ukraine, President Zelenskyy called the decision a breakthrough and another step to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense.
And the upcoming deliveries of F-16 will be an upgrade of the combat aircraft that are at Ukraine’s disposal today, says Roger Djupsjö.
– When, for example, Ukraine’s air defenses cannot operate in an area, you can make sure that the F-16 planes end up there instead, and then, in other words, you can protect those parts of Ukraine in a better way than what is done now.
– Then the F-16 has good electronic countermeasures, they are more difficult to shoot down than other planes as you can equip them with jammers and other things. And that is an advantage as we know that Russia is good at influencing flights with jamming equipment.
Can be integrated with Swedish Airlines
Another aspect is that Russia today has the unfettered opportunity to launch cruise bombs at Ukraine from its own territory. But with the F-16, Ukraine will have the opportunity to shoot them down before they reach Ukrainian airspace.
Something that will partly be possible to implement with the help of the two radar signal planes, model ASC 890, which Sweden donated to Ukraine at the end of May.
– These two planes are like flying combat command centers, which means they have good radar facilities and the ability to talk to the F-16 planes and give them missions. The plane can lie safely further back and scout with its radar stations far into Russian territory and give advance warnings to the F-16 so that they can be deployed against various targets coming from the Russian side, says Roger Djupsjö.
See more about what the F-16 could mean for Ukraine in the video above.