Zelensky: Ukraine needs more F-16s to win war
Ukraine needs about 100 more fighter jets in addition to the F-16s that have been promised by Western countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, according to the German news agency DPA, cited by Agerpres.
“For an effective air force we need a total of about 160 combat aircraft,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Portuguese national radio station. According to the Ukrainian president, such a fleet would be able to truly prevent Russia from dominating Ukrainian airspace in the ongoing war.
He confirmed that Ukraine has so far received promises from European countries for the supply of 50-60 F-16 fighter jets produced by the United States.
Previously, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, said that Ukraine needs about 128 F-16s.
Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway are the countries that have promised Ukraine such aircraft, but the training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians to operate these aircraft takes time.
According to the standards of the Dutch Air Force, it takes about two and a half years to train a fighter pilot. According to a military source, Ukrainian pilots already trained on other fighter jets, such as the Russian MiG-29 or SU-27 already in the Ukrainian army's inventory, would need about four months only to learn the basics of flying the F-16, but Ukraine would also have the option of hiring foreign pilots who are already trained.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
