Ukraine considers sending some F-16 fighters to foreign bases to avoid being hunted down

Ukraine considers sending some F-16 fighters to foreign bases to avoid being hunted down

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 15:00 PM (GMT+7)

After receiving aid from the West, Ukraine will station reserve F-16 fighter jets at allied air bases to avoid being hunted down by Russia.

The F-16 fighters donated by the West will not be deployed entirely on Ukrainian territory, but a significant part will be sent to foreign military bases.

Brigadier General Serhii Golubtsov, Head of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, spoke about this in an interview with Radio Liberty news agency.

This tactic is to prevent the F-16 from being attacked by Russian missiles.

“A certain number of aircraft will be stored at secure air bases outside Ukraine, so that they do not become targets of Russian missiles,” Brigadier General Serhii Golubtsov said.

The above-mentioned F-16 fighters will become the reserve force of the Ukrainian Air Force in case of need to replace malfunctioning fighters or during routine maintenance.

The decision was also related to the fact that Ukraine does not have enough pilots trained to fly the F-16. “This also allows us to always have a certain number of aircraft in storage, corresponding to the number of pilots we will have,” Golubtsov added.

Ukraine has prepared certain airfields for US-made fighter jets, mainly in its western territories far from the front line, giving air defenses time to react before Russian missiles arrive.

“With each conference of the members of the aviation alliance, we receive more positive forecasts, more real numbers, more information, which allows us to systematically carry out this process,” said Brigadier General Golubtsov.

It should be recalled that the media recently learned that Ukrainian officials are asking the United States to accept more Ukrainian pilots to train them in flying F-16 fighter jets.

However, the US told the Ukrainian military representative that in addition to limited space, other countries are also preparing to train their F-16 pilots, they cannot violate their obligations to other allies besides Kyiv.

The Air National Guard plans to train 12 more Ukrainian pilots at its base in Tucson by the end of September, a process expected to take at least six months, according to a US Air Force spokesman.

Before Ukraine's statement, Russia repeatedly affirmed that it would search for and destroy F-16 fighters even if they were sent abroad, meaning it was ready to carry out an attack on the territory of a NATO country.

However, most military experts believe that Moscow's warning is an exaggeration, because Russia clearly understands the consequences of such an attack, which would involve the entire North Atlantic Alliance in the battle.

In addition to the F-16, it is expected that in the near future the Ukrainian Air Force will also receive the state-of-the-art Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet produced by France and in the future it is likely to receive the JAS 39 Gripen produced by Sweden. These fighter jets are all rated higher than the F-16AM.

PV (according to Militarnyi)

Source: https://danviet.vn/ukraine-tinh-gui-mot-so-tiem-kich-f-16-o-can-cu-nuoc-ngoai-de-tranh-bi-tim-diet-20240612122458909.htm