According to Yuriy Ignat, the F-16 would suit the Ukrainian army the most, it will take up to 6 months to master them.
The issue of transferring fighters to Ukraine is constantly raised by the top military leadership of Ukraine. This topic is also discussed in the West, the type of aircraft that can be transferred to Kyiv has already been determined. This was stated by the speaker of the Air Force Command Yuri Ignat in a comment TV channel “FreeDom”.
Ukraine has been asking the West for a multipurpose aircraft since the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion. The theme of aviation has never left the daily routine. It is raised by the top military leadership, and Ukrainian pilots traveled to the West to promote the issue. Most of all, F-16 fighters would suit Ukraine, at least one squadron is needed – that’s 12 aircraft. Back in 2019, the Air Force development plans announced that about 4 fighter brigades and 2 unmanned aircraft regiments would be required.
“Our military pilots traveled to the United States, funds were allocated for the training of our pilots … That is, the aviation topic has never left the agenda. The type of aircraft that is likely to be provided to Ukraine, and the corresponding training timeline, has already been determined,” he said. Ignat.
At the same time, we are talking about training not only the pilots themselves, but also the training of aviation engineers – this is the most important element that cannot be dispensed with, Yuri Ignat noted. In addition, Ukraine must prepare the infrastructure for Western aircraft, so everything is now being done to make a decision on the transfer of fighters as quickly as possible.
As a reminder, January 15 ex-Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Andriy Melnyk called on Germany to transfer Tornado fighter jets to Ukraine. They will be replaced by American F-35s.
January 20th The Netherlands said it would consider transferring F-16 fighter jets to Ukraineif there is such a request.
