Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled the first US-made F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv received from NATO allies.
Following US approval, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway pledged to deliver more than 60 F-16s to reinforce Ukraine’s struggling air defences.
These jets are in our sky and today you see them.
Two F-16s with Ukrainian trident on their tails and disguised with camouflage netting acted as a background for Zelensky’s address at Air Forces Day.
Since the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about the need to protect our Ukrainian skies from Russian missiles and Russian aircraft. Now we have a new reality in our skies. The F-16s are in Ukraine. We made it happen. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these aircraft and have already started using them for our country. (…) Our combat aviation will bring us closer to victory.
However, a senior military official stated that Ukraine might leave some of its F-16 fighter jets at foreign bases to defend against Russian strikes, as Ukrainian bases remained vulnerable to attacks. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that facilities in NATO countries could also become “legitimate targets” if military equipment used by Ukraine was stationed there.
Although the F-16s will upgrade Ukraine’s air force, they are actually old aircraft donated by Western allies. US President Joe Biden gave the green light in August 2023 to deploy retired F-16s to Ukraine, despite the fact that the US would not provide any of its aircraft.
The F-16s are believed to bolster Ukraine’s military strength, particularly air defence, but military analysts argue that the fighter jets will not produce the expected major impact on the military conflict.
Zelensky made the speech at an undisclosed location to protect the fighter jets from Russian missiles. However, the venue could have been the Vasylkiv Air Base, located 40 kilometres from Kyiv, according to some Ukrainian media.
F-16 footage oddities
Meanwhile, Ukrainian social networks are actively discussing whether the delivered F-16s are decommissioned US equipment. Critics claim that servicemen have allegedly covered the fighters with camouflage nets to deliberately hide technical inscriptions. They also drew attention to the supposedly empty compartment where the gun is supposed to be mounted.
Some Ukrainians also raised questions about the colouring of the demonstrated fighters. The F-16s look as if they were hastily painted on, with the Ukrainian trident painted on the tail.
Besides the absence of technical inscriptions and a 20 mm six-barrel Vulcan rotary cannon, the experts noticed the antennas typical for F-16s of the ADF model designed for the US Air Force. However, the first to be delivered to Ukraine were F-16 Block 10/15 MLU from the Netherlands, which have antennas in a different configuration and physical shape. The autocannon can also be seen on the demonstrated footage with the pilot, but not in the video featuring the president.
Relying on this data, critics claimed that Ukrainians were shown decommissioned aircraft from the United States, which were used to train technicians or as decoys for Russian air forces. Ukrainian media are actively spreading opinion on the controversial issue, but no one has yet officially confirmed that the fighters shown on the F-16s are indeed American mock-ups.
Arms race
While Ukraine reports the arrival of the first F-16s, Russia continues to produce the Su-57 Felon Fighter Nightmare. Despite claims of its advanced capabilities, it has not been seen in the skies over Ukraine. Instead, Moscow actively used old Soviet aircraft. It is likely that Russian forces were saving the Su-57s until after the F-16s were delivered to Ukraine.
The reluctance to deploy Su-57s may also be due to the limited number of these aircraft in Russia. The trend highlights a broader problem in modern warfare, where older, simpler systems are often more effective and survivable than their advanced counterparts.
According to the Russian military, the Su-57 is a fifth-generation combat aircraft that can compete with both the US F-35 Lightning II and the F-22A Raptor. For now, however, the Russians are actively using older models. The country’s military-industrial complex previously reported that it had ramped up production of Su-30, Su-34, and Su-35 for deployment at the battlefront.
If Russian claims about the Su-57’s capability are true, Ukrainian forces may face challenges in the air despite receiving the first batch of F-16s. However, while critics debate the relevance of new US and Russian weapons, the fact remains that Russia is defeating Ukraine with its old Soviet technology.
The third year of the war in Ukraine may be crucial amid long-awaited fighter jet deliveries, a military production build-up, fatigue among allies funding Ukraine, and a critical US presidential election, as well as developments in the Middle East that risk shifting international focus to a more volatile region.
