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Ukraine's F-16s May Come Too Late to Stop Russian Onslaught
Newsweek ^ | May 14, 2024

Posted on 05/14/2024 2:44:50 PM PDT by McGruff

The expected delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine may come too late to have a significant impact on Russia's ongoing offensive in Kharkiv, experts have told Newsweek.

Ukrainian pilots, who for most of the more than two-year war have flown Soviet-era MiG aircraft, have recently been finishing up training on the U.S.-made jets in anticipation of receiving deliveries from Western allies including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Ukraine could expect to receive the first batch of F-16s from Denmark "within the next month," before revising her comment on Tuesday to say the jets would be expected in the "next few months."

However, experts suggested in comments to Newsweek on Tuesday that relying on the F-16s to counter Russian forces from the air may have been a strategic blunder, as Kyiv's military would have been better off focusing on receiving more familiar aircraft in a shorter timeframe.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Russia; Ukraine; War
KEYWORDS: f16; killkillkillforpeace; mic; tothelastukrainian; ukraine; welfarewar
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1 posted on 05/14/2024 2:44:50 PM PDT by McGruff
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To: McGruff
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Ukraine could expect to receive the first batch of F-16s from Denmark "within the next month," before revising her comment on Tuesday to say the jets would be expected in the "next few months."

We will gladly give you F-16s next Tuesday for another meat wave attack of press-ganged young Ukrainian boys into the Russian guns.

2 posted on 05/14/2024 2:47:22 PM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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To: McGruff

I still don’t get how in modern warfare Israel clocked their enemies within a few days, but this war has gone on for over a year now?


3 posted on 05/14/2024 2:48:14 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: Sam Gamgee
I still don’t get how in modern warfare Israel clocked their enemies within a few days, but this war has gone on for over a year now?

Really? Really? You don't get the difference between a world class military like Russia with tanks, artillery, fighters, bombers, attack helicopters, and over 1 million active duty military, compared to a rag-tag group of terrorists armed with AK-47s like Hamas?

Really?

And the war in Ukraine has been going on for over two years now, since February 2022.

4 posted on 05/14/2024 3:04:12 PM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /Sarc tag really necessary? Pray for President Biden: Psalm 109:8)
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To: Sam Gamgee

When Israel gets US jets they are stripped of the US basic avionics and refitted with the best avionics in the world.


5 posted on 05/14/2024 3:10:14 PM PDT by MAAG (The LORD does not choose sides, HE is a side.)
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To: McGruff

They will be able to fly the F-16s, but there is no way they will be proficient as F-16 fighter pilots for at least several months.


6 posted on 05/14/2024 3:11:01 PM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated.)
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To: McGruff

Ukraine and its cheerleaders are being set up for another big disappointment with this latest wunderwaffe. These Danish F-16A/B models are nearly 40 years old and were already being retired, and they’re not going to sweep the Russians from the skies. The slaughter will just continue...


7 posted on 05/14/2024 3:28:21 PM PDT by Always A Marine ("When you strike at a king, you must kill him" - Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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To: Always A Marine
I agree. And who is going to provide the incredible amount of. maintenance required for the F-16s?

It really won’t matter though, since those Ukranian pilots will be flying for United as soon as they get enough flight hours.

8 posted on 05/14/2024 3:41:11 PM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated.)
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To: Yo-Yo

In 1973 Israel had to fight combined national armies of Egypt and Syria. But yes, I haven’t really been following the war in the Ukraine, and in general don’t get why its taking so long to resolve.


9 posted on 05/14/2024 3:51:34 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: Always A Marine

What Ukraine needs is planes that can carry a weight of standoff bombs and missiles. That ain’t the F-16s metier. I’d want a few squadrons of A-10s. F-16s require antiseptically clean runways due to the underslung air intake. A-10s can operate off dirt roads if necessary.


10 posted on 05/14/2024 4:16:41 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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To: McGruff
These 40-year-old F-16s will be a gamechanger, if Ukraine can train the pilots, establish adequate air defense around the airfields, prepare runways for their use, and build a logistics infrastructure to support their operation.

11 posted on 05/14/2024 4:20:38 PM PDT by Right_Wing_Madman
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To: Chad C. Mulligan

Some nations in NATO have Migs from the Soviet era.

US could trade F-16s for the more familiar Migs.


12 posted on 05/14/2024 4:26:19 PM PDT by Does so ( 🇺🇦....We are in the later stages of a Communist takeover...)
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To: McGruff

Did they ever finally get those Migs that Trump wanted them to have early in the invasion?


13 posted on 05/14/2024 4:34:27 PM PDT by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
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To: McGruff

The F-16 can carry missiles and bombs.

And so can Migs.

Why would it be a game changer?


14 posted on 05/14/2024 5:24:51 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: McGruff

As I understand things, the Russians rely heavily on artillery, which the F-16s have no great special capability to take out.


15 posted on 05/14/2024 5:26:25 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: Right_Wing_Madman
establish adequate air defense around the airfields, prepare runways for their use, and build a logistics infrastructure to support their operation.

None of which has been demo'ed by the Ukes.

16 posted on 05/14/2024 5:57:37 PM PDT by xone ( )
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To: McGruff

1. who is going to service and supply these jets?

2. who is going to protect the runways, fuel supply, spare parts, support staff and training sites.

3. where are the Ukrainian jets going to get ATCs, radar, over the horizon electronic warfare hardware, and the people to run that?

4. what is the combined plan to use this for defensive and offensive purposes, when they can’t even use the weapon systems we have given them already in a coordinated manner.


17 posted on 05/14/2024 6:35:21 PM PDT by Dick Vomer ( (2 Timothy 4:7 "deo duce ferro comitantes" <p><b></B><P> <img src="">)
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To: Dick Vomer
Exactly.

An F-16 requires 17 hours of maintenance for each flight hour!

Who in the Ukraine can provide that?

18 posted on 05/14/2024 6:46:40 PM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated.)
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To: Sam Gamgee

“I still don’t get how in modern warfare Israel clocked their enemies within a few days, but this war has gone on for over a year now?”

Ukraine has been fighting with a much larger military budget than Russia. Typically Russia spends around 75 billion a year on the military. United States gave Ukraine over 120 billion in cash, arms, and munitions. And the munitions we gave for the most part was more advanced.

Despite Ukrainians soldiers fighting hard and taking full advantage (minus the corruption) of this superior funding, they are going to lose. The stories of corruption and loss are piling up. All our aid did was kill tens of thousands of young men on both sides, devastate the country’s industries, and make the fat cats in the military industrial complex wealthy happy campers along with illegal political kickbacks funding our democrat enemies. Bidens is flush with money that can be traced to these kickbacks if anyone cared to look.


19 posted on 05/15/2024 5:00:54 AM PDT by BushCountry (A properly cast vote (1 day voting) can save you $2.00 a gallon.)
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To: McGruff

Our Air Force dominates because of our combined arms strategies. For example at the start of Desert Storm helicopters were utilized to suppress SAMs before the vulnerable F16s were deployed. We also have AWACs and years and years of training and specialist personnel to support the aircraft. Unless Ukraine is going to be provided with the combined arms components the F16s should be easy meat for SAMs. Unless they are getting stand off weapons for the Falcons. Plus as mentioned before these are old less capable A/B models.

As long as the MIC keeps getting fed it’s all good. /s


20 posted on 05/15/2024 6:54:43 AM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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