The Asia Times newspaper reported that the West, led by the United States, will provide Ukraine with models of F-16 fighters, which will not have a significant impact on the course of hostilities.
Article author Steven Bryan explained: “The Kiev troops will receive old versions of these fighters, which underwent some modifications at the beginning of this century, and they will not be as good as modern versions or even improved Taiwanese F-16 fighters, and they will not be equipped with radars.” .
He pointed to Ukraine’s need to build a fighter maintenance network, which will take more than a year, and the need to train its pilots over a long period of time, and that the biggest challenge in maintaining these aircraft will fall on Europe.
According to him, Ukrainian pilots will face many difficulties when taking off and landing on short Ukrainian runways designed for Soviet and Russian-made aircraft that do not need long runways, which will force Ukrainian pilots to take off with half the possible load. weapons.
He emphasized that there is a high probability of damage to the structures of the fighters that will be delivered to Ukraine, or equipment on board, which will negatively affect the conduct of operations.
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry regarded the supply of weapons to NATO countries in Ukraine as “playing with fire”, incitement that fuels the crisis, undermines the chances for peace and could lead to the outbreak of a nuclear war.
The Russian Defense Ministry also warned Western countries against supplying weapons to Ukraine and promised to crush them on Ukrainian soil.
Source: News