Months of lobbying by Ukrainian officials led to the fact that Ukraine will still receive
What is known
Training program to be led by the Netherlandsand Denmark, means that at least one foreign ally of Ukraine will send fourth-generation American fighter jets to the warring country. The only question remains in quantity.
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According to Forbes, the Ukrainian Air Force cancount on at least 50 F-16 supersonic aircraft. Donors will be countries that ordered the F-35 Lightning II. However, not all states that will receive fifth-generation fighters are ready to abandon the F-16.
The main candidate is the Netherlands.The small European country has 24 F-16AM/BMs in operation and 18 airworthy in storage. Denmark has about 50 fighters, including about three dozen F-16AM/BMs in use. Norway also has a Fighting Falcon. A Scandinavian country has about a dozen old planes in its hangar.
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If Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands agree toexport of F-16s, then Ukraine will be able to rely on 50 fighters. This is enough to form three or four squadrons, consisting of 12-16 aircraft.
This number of formations is enough to gain air supremacy in a separate section of the front. This was stated by Sergey Golubtsov, Brigadier General of the Ukrainian Air Force.
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As for the US, they have more F-16s thanany other country. There are hundreds of Block 25 and Block 30/32 level aircraft in long-term storage. However, most of the fighters are based in the Arizona desert and have not flown for decades. Note that the US Air Force Base Davis-Monthan is located in Arizona. More than 4,400 units of military aircraft and several spacecraft are preserved here.
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The US military will need tooverhaul before sending the planes to Ukraine. This may take months. For this reason, it is the European F-16AM / BM that is the best short-term solution to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Air Force for fighters. The American F-16C/D could be a long-term choice.