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Ukraine for the first time showed F-16 fighters as part of the Air Force.
During the celebrations for the Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces on August 4, Ukraine for the first time showed F-16 fighters as part of the Air Force. The ceremony of introducing new aircraft into the army was attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. He called the appearance of Western aircraft in service a new stage in the development of national combat aviation.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has received Soviet MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack aircraft from Western countries, but the authorities initially asked for the supply of Western-style aircraft. In 2023, several countries, with the consent of the United States, decided to transfer such aircraft to Kyiv.
Now Kyiv has been promised 79 of this fighters. According to various sources, Ukraine has already received 6 or 10 of them. Western countries have trained Ukrainians and technicians, the US plans to supply modern missiles, bombs and other types of weapons for such fighters.
In photos of Ukrainian F-16s distributed by the country’s authorities, the fighters are armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles, AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range missiles and are equipped with external fuel tanks. This could potentially allow them to intercept russian bombers and cruise missiles.
Still, the main issue is that you need to shoot the archers, not the arrows…