By Anastasiia Malenko
(Reuters) – Ukrainian pilots have began flying F-16s for operations throughout the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighter jets greater than 29 months since Russia’s invasion.
The Ukrainian chief introduced the usage of F-16s, which Kyiv has lengthy lobbied for, as he met army pilots at an air base flanked by two of the jets with two extra flying overhead.
“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,” Zelenskiy stated at a location that authorities requested Reuters to not disclose for safety causes.
The arrival of the jets is a milestone for Ukraine after many months of ready, although it stays unclear what number of can be found and the way a lot of an affect they are going to have in enhancing air defences and on the battlefield.
Russia has been concentrating on bases that will home them and vowed to shoot them down so they won’t affect the struggle.
Constructed by Lockheed Martin (NYSE:), the F-16s had been on Ukraine’s want record for a very long time due to their damaging energy and international availability. They’re geared up with a 20mm cannon and may carry bombs, rockets and missiles.
Speaking to reporters on the tarmac of an airfield, Zelenskiy stated Ukraine nonetheless didn’t have sufficient pilots educated to make use of the F-16s or sufficient of the jets themselves.
“The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s … many guys are now training,” he stated.
It was necessary, he stated, that Kyiv’s allies discovered methods to develop coaching programmes and alternatives for each Ukrainian pilots and engineering groups.
‘NEW AVIATION STANDARD’
Ukraine has beforehand relied on an ageing fleet of Soviet-era warplanes which can be outgunned by Russia’s extra superior and way more quite a few fleet.
Russia has used that edge to conduct common long-range missile strikes on targets throughout Ukraine and in addition to pound Ukrainian entrance line positions with 1000’s of guided bombs, supporting its forces which can be slowly advancing within the east.
“This is the new stage of development of the air force of Ukraine’s armed forces,” Zelenskiy stated.
“We did a lot for Ukrainian forces to transition to a new aviation standard, the Western combat aviation,” he added, citing tons of of conferences and unrelenting diplomacy to acquire the F-16s.
“We often heard ‘it is impossible’ as an answer but we still made our ambition, our defensive need, possible,” he stated.
It stays unclear what missiles the jets are geared up with. An extended vary of missile would enable them to have a larger battlefield affect, army analysts say.
Zelenskiy stated he additionally hoped to foyer allied neighbouring international locations to assist intercept Russian missiles being launched at Ukraine by way of conversations on the Ukraine-NATO Council platform.
“This is another tool, and I want to try it, so that NATO countries can talk to Ukraine about the possibility of a small coalition of neighbouring countries shooting down enemy missiles,” he stated.
“I think this decision is probably difficult for our partners, they are always afraid of excessive escalation but we are fighting that.”
