[Music]
[Music] thank you
why are many NATO members pressing to send f-16s to Ukraine
days after agreeing to send Western tanks to Ukraine support is growing for sending
fighter jets next the Netherlands in Poland are both considering transferring f-16s and
a new report says there is growing support in the U.S government to also send the Jets
the f-16s would be used to patrol Ukrainian airspace particularly against Russian cruise
missiles according to Politico a growing number of U.S military officials inside the Pentagon
are in favor of sending f-16s to Ukraine the s-16 a design that dates back to the 1980s
would be useful while not as escalatory as sending a stealth fighter such as the F-22
Raptor or F-35 lightning II let's face it a nuclear war isn't going to happen over s-16s
one official quoted by the new site said
Ukraine started the war with 43 mig-29s and 26 su-27s less than 70 fighter jets in all
the Jets were all built during the Cold War making them at least 32 years old and few
have received meaningful upgrades 16 of the Megs and seven of these su-27s have been lost
in 11 months of combat almost all to Russian Fighters and surface-to-air missiles former
Warsaw packed NATO Air Forces have transferred spare parts and in the case of Poland reportedly
entire planes but nearly a year of high-intensity War has likely run down both NATO's and Ukraine's
stockpiles of spare parts and weapons
one proposed solution has been to transfer s-16 Fighting Falcon fighters to Ukraine the
s16 originally designed as a low-cost Don fighter as over the past four decades evolved
into a highly capable multi-mission Strike Fighter popular among the NATO Air Forces
the s-16 is gradually being replaced in their inventories with the F-35 lightning II as
the new f-35s arrive NATO Air Forces like those of the Netherlands Belgium Norway Poland
and others are retiring their s-16s presenting an opportunity for Ukraine this process will
also free up large numbers of spare parts and Munitions at 35 operators no longer require
fighter jets are dual roll aircraft while they can be used offensively to seize control
of another country's airspace they are equally at home defending their own if Ukraine receives
s-16s they will be restricted to a defensive role at least for now like any modern military
power Russia has layered air defenses over the theater this starts at the lowest level
with manned portable air defense weapons like the sa-18 and sa-24 shoulder-fired surface-to-air
missile systems which are effective to an altitude of about 13 000 feet then short and
medium-range air defense systems such as pancer S1 tour and buck and longer range surface-to-air
missile systems like the s-400 Triumph as a result the most likely mission for s16 style
Jets is probably National Air Defense protecting Ukrainian military and civilian targets from
air and missile attacks many fourth generation fighters of which the F-16 is an example have
looked down or shoot down capability this capability first made commonplace in the late
1980s refers to a fighter radar sophisticated enough to detect low-flying targets against
the noise of clutter produced by terrain features below originally meant to be used against
low-flying bombers and strike aircraft it is also useful against Russian caliber 9 M
729 and k101 cruise missiles the F-16 sees and or apg-68 radar can detect Targets in
look down or shoot down mode at up to 31 miles
Russia has repeatedly Unleashed porridges of land attack cruise missiles against Ukrainian
targets including energy infrastructure as a means of demoralizing civilians nf-16 armed
with aim 120 M Ram air-to-air missiles already transferred to Ukraine as ammunition for the
nasim's air defense system could fly roving patrols over the country quickly responding
to cruise missile attacks and bolstering ground-based air defenses
among NATO's s-16 operators Poland and the Netherlands have both indicated they would
send f-16s Poland operates 36 f-16s of a more recent vintage with 32 F-35 lightning twos
on order and set to begin arriving in 2026.
unlike other F-16 operators Poland was not preparing to retire its f-16s anytime soon
so it will probably symbolically lend a few to Ukraine to get the ball rolling the Netherlands
originally had a fleet of 213 f-16s reduced to 68 with the end of the Cold War it has
52 f-35s on order the Royal Netherlands Air Force could probably spare a dozen of 16s
and could transfer more as more f-35s arrive Ukraine says its Pilots believed they would
need about six months of training to become proficient on the F-16 Politico reports the
Ukrainian government has identified up to 50 veteran English-speaking fighter pilots
that could take on the task [Music]
[Music] it happened
foreign [Music]
foreign
[Music]
foreign [Music]
foreign
[Music]