July 10, 2024 – 9:00 PM
After months of training and negotiations, the first F-16s have left for Ukraine. According to plans, Ukraine will be able to deploy the fighter jets this summer, reports A guardian.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a light fighter aircraft originally designed in the 1970s. It first entered service in 1979, and has been used regularly by the US Air Force in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Last August, the United States agreed to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful to Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States for their help. Zelensky is confident that they will be able to get more fighter jets.
According to experts, fighter jets alone will not change the front lines, but they can serve well against Russian helicopters launching missiles from Russian-controlled areas against Ukrainian targets. The HIMARS missile launcher system is less suitable for firing them, because the target is too close, but it is already too far for shoulder-fired missiles.
