Ukraine to seek secure parking for F-16s abroad
Al JazeeraKyiv expects first donated fighter jets will arrive later this year, but plans to keep some outside the country. A senior Ukrainian air force commander said in comments published late on Sunday that some of the F-16s set to be delivered by European allies for the war with Russia will be held at foreign bases while military personnel train to use them. There are a certain number of aircraft that will be stored at secure airbases, outside of Ukraine, so that they are not targeted here,” said Serhii Holubtsov, head of aviation at the air force command of the armed forces of Ukraine, in an interview with the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published on Sunday. “This will be our reserve in case of need for replacement of faulty planes during routine maintenance.” Ukrainian pilots have been “impressed” with the aircraft, the official said, noting they have been able to detect drones and other aircraft, which can be targeted with the air-to-air missiles onboard, complementing the F-16’s air-to-ground assault capabilities. The commander said the Ukrainian military “fully understands that it will be difficult to gain air superiority with one type of aircraft” but that it believes it can use the F-16s to drive away Russian aircraft that drop precision-guided bombs from high altitudes.