US commander explains when Ukraine will gain air superiority with F-16s
Photo: F-16s will not give Ukraine air superiority in a few weeks (Getty Images)
The upcoming arrival of F-16s in Ukraine will not be a panacea. It will be the first stage of a longer process of transitioning the country's armed forces to Western tactics and equipment, according to General James Hecker, the commander of the US Air Force in Europe.
He says that Ukrainian pilots will not gain air superiority for several weeks.
“It’s going to be a process that we’ll go through, but at least we’re starting. I think the big thing here is this is a start to getting Ukraine into Western equipment, Western tactics, Western doctrine and Western thinking,” Hecker says.
Ukraine will follow other former Eastern Bloc countries that joined NATO and adopted Western aircraft. It will take time to be able to operate the aircraft effectively with sufficient personnel and the necessary logistical support.
“This doesn’t happen overnight, but you’ve got to start that, and we’re getting pretty close to starting,” the general says.
Ukraine has been largely successful during the war in ensuring the safety of its aircraft by being flexible - for example, by never taking off and landing from the same base. The Ukrainian Air Force has done this with its current fleet of MiG-29s and Su-24s, and will now need to do it again with the F-16s. This will be a difficult task, as not all airfields across the country will be able to handle the new aircraft, Hecker says.
Operationally, Russia has adapted its tactics, targeting and striking faster, Hecker said. Moscow is increasingly using ballistic missiles provided by North Korea, so Ukraine's partners need to ensure they have the right defense against them - along with the proliferation of kamikaze drones.
Hecker says he was more concerned about Ukraine's future a couple of months ago because the country's ammunition stockpile was depleted and international political pressure slowed down replenishment. Since then, the situation has softened considerably as Western efforts have provided more systems needed for both defense and offense, he says.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced at the NATO summit in Washington in July that Lockheed Martin F-16s would be flying in Ukrainian skies this summer. This is the culmination of a long process that includes training in the US and several locations across Europe, as well as current and future deliveries of aircraft from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway.
According to President Zelenskyy, Ukraine will receive a handful of F-16s from Western countries, which will not be enough to fight on equal terms with Russian aircraft.
