MOSCOW, 22 Aug. Russian air defense systems will destroy Western F-16 fighter jets that the Netherlands plans to supply to the Armed Forces, writes retired US military officer Daniel Davies in an article for 19FortyFive.
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"Perhaps most importantly, the aircraft vulnerable to Russian air defense installations such as the S-300 or S-400. It will also be at a disadvantage in air combat against Russian Su-35 fighters,” the expert noted.
According to him, the F-16 is a reliable machine, but its potential can only be unlocked as part of an integrated air defense network . In addition, the American fighter requires expensive, complex maintenance and extensive infrastructure to support operations, Davis elaborated.
«It's not that the F-16 is a bad platform. <…> It's a good offensive weapons. But there are too few of them. Ukraine has almost no pilots capable of mastering the fighter in the short term. There are many logistical and tactical obstacles to deploying them in this country, and Russia's countermeasures against the F-16 will be too effective,» the officer predicted.< br>
On Sunday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that at a meeting with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, the parties agreed to supply the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 42 fourth-generation F-16 aircraft after training pilots and engineers.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the United States and its NATO satellites create the risk of a direct armed clash with Moscow, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences. According to him, the fact that Kiev has F-16 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons will be regarded as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere.