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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will treat F-16 multi-role fighter jets operated by Ukraine as nuclear-capable assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. "We cannot ignore the fact that these planes are dual-purpose platforms that can be used both for nuclear and non-nuclear tasks … No matter what modification of the aircraft will be supplied [to Ukraine] we will treat them as nuclear-capable and we will consider this step of the United States and NATO as a purposeful provocation," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry further warned the regime in Kiev and its Western donors that their reckless...

Reports from U.S. outlets surfaced earlier this March, revealing plans to ship the first six F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by this summer. Training for twelve Ukrainian pilots, slated for completion by summer this year, is currently ongoing in the countries of Denmark, the U.S., and Great Britain. Simultaneously, these reports highlight that of the roughly 45 fighter jets pledged by Western allies, only a fraction, six F-16s, will be delivered upon the pilots’ return to Ukraine. More so, it appears that training for the pilots at Feteşti Air Base in Romania, situated 150 kilometers east of Bucharest, has suffered...

Ukraine hailed a major development in the level of support it has received from NATO at the weekend as the donation of F-16s went from ‘one day’ to ‘this year’, but the nation has gone right from that news to urging for more nations to pledge their own stocks of jet fighters, too. Denmark and the Netherlands both committed to give Ukraine F-16 fighter jets from their arsenals over the weekend, with Copenhagen saying they would send 19 planes and six of them this year, and Amsterdam promising aircraft without putting a specific number or timeline on deliveries. The Ukrainians...

Ukraine, Denmark, and the Netherlands appeared to reach a milestone agreement to give the invaded nation F-16 jets, with the first delivery coming as early this year but it comes with a condition of no strikes beyond Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders. President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the progress on the F-16 deal during an in-person visit to Denmark and the Netherlands at the weekend, enthusiastically claiming the Dutch government was going to hand over 42 F-16s, the nation’s entire stock of the aircraft. The Dutch were more circumspect and didn’t put a specific number or even timeline for delivery at the...

Ukraine has apparently now come to terms with there being no foreign donations of fighter jets during the count offensive, or even this year at all, one of the nation’s top spokesmen has said. Spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ihnat, a figure frequently heard on the world stage pleading for more military equipment, said it had now become “obvious” there would be no foreign fighter jets coming this year on Ukrainian television. Per a translation offered by Ukraine’s state media service Ukrinform, Ihnat said on Thursday: “It is already obvious that we will not be able to protect...

Update from Ukraine | Ukraine is close to cut the south area of Bakhmut | F-16s Approved! Awesome! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IoY0-Lv_c4 ****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: Invasion Day 450– Summary May 19 , 2023 Jerome News The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-450-summary/ *** Greatly appreciate the viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use on each Front map!

The Netherlands is working "intensively" with other European countries to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. However, there are no concrete commitments yet, as it turned out today at the joint press conference of Ukrainian President Zelensky, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister De Croo in the Catshuis in The Hague. "There are no taboos and we are working intensively on it," said Rutte. "But we're not there yet". The three other countries are Belgium, the United Kingdom and Denmark...

Two leading House Republicans have called on President Joe Biden to increase military support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and reiterated support on both sides of the aisle for continuing to fund the Ukrainian war effort. Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “State of the Union” in a joint interview with House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner that aired Sunday that bipartisan support for Ukraine is “still very strong.” But as the one-year anniversary of the war approaches, McCaul warned that hedging support for Ukraine could prolong...

The U.S. Air Force might buy 72 upgraded F-15, F-16 or even F-18 fighter aircraft due to low F-35 production rates and the high cost of the F-35. The U.S. Air Force “is struggling to afford 48 F-35s a year” for the first years of full-rate production a senior Air Force officer told Aerospace Daily & Defense Report. Full rate-production is slated to begin in 2019 and the U.S. Air Force wants to buy 60 planes in 2020, and 80 F-35 per year after that. This year, the Air Force is to receive 28 F-35s, whereas in 2016 the number...

Iraq has put F-16 warplanes acquired from the United States into action against the Islamic State group for the first time, the commander of the air force said Sunday. “Fifteen air strikes were carried out in the past four days,” staff lieutenant general Anwar Hama Amin said following a news conference in Baghdad. “Smart weapons” were used in the strikes, Amin said, without specifying the type. Khaled al-Obaidi, the defence minister, told the news conference that the strikes had achieved “important results” and that the jets will have “an impact on the conduct of operations in the future”.

One of the important pieces of news to come out of Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s visit to the White House Tuesday is that Iraq will be receiving delivery of F-16s. At Commentary, Max Boot asks if this is such a wise move, “Why Are We Giving F-16s to an Iranian-Infiltrated Government?” As Boot explains, “the government of Iraq is heavily infiltrated by Iranian agents,” and Abadi himself is an Iranian ally, selected by Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani to replace the former prime minister, also an asset of Tehran’s, Nuri al-Maliki. “Does it really make safe under those circumstances...

Four more F-16 fighter jets are slated for delivery to Egypt’s military as part of a U.S. foreign aid package that is apparently unaffected by the army’s overthrow of the North African nation’s president last week...

With Benghazi still burning in the rear-view mirror of its wobbly foreign policy, the Obama administration is set to ship the Islamic Brotherhood government of Egypt 10 F16 fighter jets and 200 Abrams tanks and charge it to U.S. taxpayers... ...the Islamic Brotherhood is not a U.S. ally. Nevertheless, the Obama administration is prepared to arm them to the teeth with cutting-edge tanks and planes

Instability in Egypt, where a newly-elected Islamic government teeters over an angry population, isn´t enough to stop the U.S. from sending more than 20 F-16 fighter jets, as part of a $1 billion foreign aid package. The first four jets are to be delivered to Egypt beginning Jan. 22, a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth, where the planes have been undergoing testing, told FoxNews.com. The North African nation already has a fleet of more than 200 of the planes and the latest shipment merely fulfills an order placed two years ago.

If true, this makes Iran-contra look like a bake sale in comparison. From Ynet: Human currency? The Palestinian Maan news agency reported Thursday that the United States has agreed to sell Egypt several F-16 fighter jets in order to facilitate the release of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel. Israel had opposed similar sales in the past. Maan quoted General Sameh Sayf al-Yazal as saying that Washington was instrumental in negotiation the 27-year-old’s release, and helped Egypt “get the best possible deal for Grapel’s release.” Grapel, who at some point faced charges of espionage, sedition and attempted arson, will be debriefed by defense...

CHICAGO (AP) — Myrtle Rose was taking a short flight over suburban Chicago when the 75-year-old aviation enthusiast looked out her cockpit window to see two F-16 fighter jets. She assumed the military pilots were just slowing down to get a closer look at her antique plane. It wasn't until she landed her 1941 Piper J-3 Cub that friends and the police told her the attention was much more serious — for straying into restricted airspace during a visit by President Barack Obama. Rose . . . normally uses her computer to check for airspace restrictions, but it wasn't working...

Former state lawmaker Peter Goudinoff set off in his experimental airplane Friday hoping to give his friend a bird's-eye view of the Monument Fire damage near Sierra Vista. Instead, they received an F-16 escort back to Tucson after he said he apparently flew into Mexican airspace and then returned back into the United States. The retired University of Arizona professor's Lancair Legacy single-engine airplane was intercepted by the two fighter jets for flying without a flight plan near the Arizona-Mexico border, authorities said. The F-16s, scrambled from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, escorted Goudinoff's plane to Tucson International Airport, where he...

The air forces of China and Turkey have carried out a joint exercise, the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday, in what appeared to be the first such drill involving Beijing and a NATO member country. Turkey assured the United States it would take the "utmost care" to protect sensitive U.S. and NATO technologies, said U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Tamara Parker, a department spokeswoman. She described Turkey's government as committed to the NATO alliance and the continuation of strong ties to the United States. "To the best of our knowledge, U.S.-made F-16s were not involved in the exercise," Parker said....

3/26/2010 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- As their F-16 Fighting Falcon pulled into its parking spot on the airfield March 23, the maintainers from the 34th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit had something to be proud of: tail number 2119 had returned from its 30th code 1 sortie over Afghanistan. Lt. Col. Brad Lyons, 34th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, explained the code status as a three tier system that rates an aircraft's mission readiness. A code 1 aircraft is one that returns from a mission with no maintenance needs that would affect the safety of flight or mission accomplishment. A...

Israel has become a major exporter of military equipment to India. And that includes advice, as well as hardware. Recently, for example, Indian Air Force commanders have been asking Israeli advice on the Indian effort to select a supplier for over a hundred high end jet fighters. Israeli Air Force officials have recommended the U.S. F-16. In this case, the Israelis practice what they preach, currently having over 300 F-16s in service. Israeli firms also manufactures a lot of add-on gear for F-16s (and similar fighters). India has been leaning towards the Swedish Gripen, but the Israelis point out that...