Some of the Western F-16 fighters that the partners will provide to Ukraine as part of defense aid will be deployed at foreign air bases. The reason for this is to protect the aircraft from Russian strikes, according to Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aviation of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The brigadier general notes that 4 countries have confirmed the provision of these aircraft to Ukraine, but expressed the opinion that the number may increase over time, as almost all countries with F-16s are gradually rearming with F-35s.
"As for 30 aircraft, 40. It should be understood that not all the aircraft that will be transferred to Ukraine will come to Ukraine now. Some will remain in the centers where our pilots and aviation personnel are trained. These will be Ukrainian aircraft that will be used to train our pilots,” he says.
In this context, Holubtsov adds that the figure should not surprise anyone.
"There is a figure that will come to Ukraine. There is a certain number of aircraft that will be stored at safe airbases, not in Ukraine so that they are not targets here,” the officer reports. According to him, such fighter jets will be reserved for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in particular, if necessary, to replace faulty aircraft, during routine maintenance.
According to him, such fighter jets will be reserved for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in particular, if necessary, to replace faulty aircraft, during routine maintenance.
“That is so that we can constantly have a certain number of aircraft in the operational composition, which will correspond to the number of pilots we will have,” Holubtsov says.
He adds that if there are more pilots, there will be more F-16s on the territory of Ukraine.
The head of aviation of the Ukrainian Air Force Command notes that the Ukrainian side has a certain number of prepared airfields, and the number of planes that will enter first this year is known.
"We know how many will come in next year. We have these plans. If the year 28 was mentioned somewhere... It was mentioned today, tomorrow it may be 27, then 26,” says Holubtsov.
The brigadier general adds that it is not yet known how many F-16s will be promised to Ukraine in the longer term, and this may be a plus because, with each conference of the members of the aviation coalition, Kyiv receives more positive forecasts, more realistic figures, more information that allows us to make this process systematic.
F-16 for Ukraine
In 2023, some NATO member states decided to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots for these fighters.
According to Politico, Ukraine is putting pressure on European countries and the United States to step up efforts to train Ukrainian pilots for the F-16, as Kyiv is not satisfied with the pace and scope of training Ukrainian pilots in the West.
Recently, Danish Prime Minister Matt Frederiksen said that F-16s from her country would soon be delivered to Ukraine.