Kateryna Denisova and the Kiev Independent news desk – July 31, 2024
Ukraine has received the first batch of fourth-generation U.S.-made F-16 jets, Bloomberg reported on July 31, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
The news comes a year after the allied “fighter jet coalition” took shape at the Vilnius NATO summit under the Danish and Dutch leadership.
The deadline for the transfer of F-16s was late July, the sources told Bloomberg. Ukraine received “a small number” of the planes, the sources said.
Ukraine is expected to receive at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway, with the deliveries to continue in the coming years.
The fighter jet coalition also pledged to help train Ukrainian pilots and technical staff to operate the jets.
It is unclear whether the trained Ukrainian pilots will be able to use combat aircraft immediately or the process will take longer, unnamed people told Bloomberg.
Kyiv is yet to confirm these reports.
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American air superiority fighter that Kyiv has begged for since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Although some defense experts do not expect F-16s to become game-changers in the war, the jets may strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and shield the country’s population centers from Russia’s daily bombardments.
Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa said that the upcoming delivery of F-16s to Ukraine will challenge Russia’s “full dominance” of the skies over the Black Sea.
Denmark and the Netherlands indicated that they would allow Ukraine to strike with F-16s inside Russia, although Copenhagen said that such a move would “depend on the circumstances.”
Hmmm…a retd. USAF LtCol. explained to me why they were known as ‘Lawn Darts’.
RIP Rich, you were one of the good guys!
Good luck with the F16 Ukraine!!
Odd if we were to go by all the articles on here from commie of alabama & macgregor & ritter & all the other cia-kgb mackerel snappers, the Russian Commies were supposed to have won many months ago..
These F-16’s are stripped of all advanced electronics .. they know they are quickly destroyed .. it is just money laundering ..
like aleister has pointed out, why are all the columnists being pushed on us either bagel eaters or mackerel snappers?? I love these phony russia – us ‘prisoner swaps’ to maintain the facade that these two commie nations aren’t ruled by the same global cabal of Jews. oh look they exchanged some mulatto basketball transvestite for a russian yid arms merchant or lets swap american yids for russian commie yids…
If they’re actually in Ukraine and Russia is not blowing them to pieces then there is something very wrong with this supposed war.