The military expert explained why F-16s won’t help Ukraine

Fighter jets F-16 won’t help Ukraine for several reasons.

This is written by military analyst Brandon Weichert in The National Interest.

Firstly, these systems are former military aircraft nearing the end of their service life. The prospect of sending old machines into modern high-speed aerial combat doesn’t bode well for Ukrainians.

Secondly, Ukraine is being provided with a minimal number of outdated F-16s, which means they won’t yield significant results.

Thirdly, it will take four to five years to fully train Ukrainian pilots to properly operate these military aircraft. By that time, the course of the conflict will have changed drastically, giving Russia an even stronger advantage, the expert believes.

Furthermore, old F-16s cannot compare to next-generation Russian military aircraft. They could be used for ground operations to cover ground troops, but these operations would be limited and unlikely to be worth the trouble.

“As my colleague from Asia Times wrote a year ago on this topic: ‘Formerly used F-16s at the end of their service life won’t actually change the military chess game in Ukraine.’ This was true in 2023. And it’s even more true today, in 2024,” summarized Brandon Weichert.