The first batch of F-16 multirole fighters may arrive in Ukraine at the end of 2023. France will join the training of Ukrainian pilots next year.
"Apostrophe" collected all the relevant information about the F-16 fighters, that soon will be sent to Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) predicts that the first batch of aircraft will arrive in Ukraine at the end of 2023. Experts remind that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte did not confirm the terms of delivery of F-16s, but a recent strategy document of Estonian Defense Ministry said that European allies have already committed to transfer the planes to the Defense Forces "by the end of the year."
The Netherlands together with Denmark promised to provide Ukraine with 61 airplanes - 42 and 19 respectively. Later, Norway and Belgium announced their intentions to provide F-16 multirole fighters.
It should be noted that in 2024 France will join the training of Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets. And we are talking about initial training, that will be continued by European partners.
"The first pilots will arrive in early 2024. After initial training in France they will continue training on fighter jets on courses, organized by our partners" ," a report of French Defense Ministry about military assistance to Ukraine said. However, the ministry did not specify that these were F-16 fighter jets.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian Armed Forces will soon receive the first 18 F-16s from the Netherlands. The Head of State pointed out the importance for Ukraine to receive long-term assistance from the European Union in the amount of €50bn as soon as possible.
For his part, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte reminded that Kyiv should first ensure all the technical requirements necessary for their proper use. In addition to export authorization, according to the politician, it is also a question of meeting a number of other criteria - personnel and infrastructure requirements.
In late November, the Defense Ministry announced the establishment of a special structure for the integration of F-16 fighters. According to First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksandr Pavliuk, the concept is the "Office-61", which aims to organize comprehensive support for the continuous process of integrating the multirole aircraft into the overall system of the Defense Forces.
The main fields of work of "Office-61" are:
- support and development of the infrastructure of airfields and air bases;
- full protection of airfield infrastructure, including air defense systems;
- selection and training of flight crews and other aviation personnel;
- aircraft life cycle support and logistics support;
- international communications and other legal, financial, security and administrative functions.
Russian pro-war Telegram channel "Rybar" went further and claims that the first squadron of F-16s has already arrived in Ukraine. Such reports appeared after three Russian Su-34 fighter jets were simultaneously destroyed in southern Ukraine on December 22. According to propagandists, the allies supposedly have already sent 12 F-16 combat and 3 training aircraft.
"The entire December, the import of high-precision (equipment - ed.) for these airplanes continues through Lviv. That is why we are hitting (RF Armed Forces - ed.) in Starokonstantiniv, Dnipro and Kriviy Rih. There are also training flights of Ukrainian F-16s over Romania and western Ukraine. The airfields of Ivano-Frankivsk and Uzhgorod are involved," the invaders said in a statement.
Earlier, we wrote that Ukraine may receive Swedish Gripen fighter jets in addition to F-16s.