The commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, explained Ukraine’s urgent need for Western multi-purpose fighters as soon as possible.
The theses include the need to protect the rear areas from missile strikes, push enemy aircraft away from forward positions on the front, in particular from lines where the enemy is dropping guided bombs. The F-16’s are the machines can deliver high-precision strikes and control the sea space.
Read more: Are the L-39 Combat Training Jets Worth Trying to Shoot Down a UAV And Why It Is a Bad Idea
However, there are key items in the list. Here we are not talking about expanding the capabilities of the Air Force of Ukraine, but about the fact that without the F-16, Ukraine may be left without tactical aviation at all. In order to perform daily combat tasks for more than a year, combat aircraft need to be repaired to maintain their resource. And also provide weapons: for example, air-to-air missiles to be able to shoot down cruise missiles and drones.
As an example Defense Express provides the passport data of the RD-33 engine resource for the MiG-29, which in the "second series" modernized in russia and has a total resource of 1400 hours, and before the first overhaul the number is 400 hours. For the RD-33 of the first releases, its resource is much smaller, which was one of its problems, since the design of the RD-33 began back in 1976, it was delivered to the army in 1981, and it was officially accepted into service only in 1985. And this inconsistency was due to the fact that the USSR had to start production of the MiG-29 even despite the presence of a modified engine.
Regarding the AL-31F for the Su-27, the determined resource on paper is about 1000-1500 hours, and at the beginning of their production in the USSR in the 80s, it was about 100, although the military demanded a minimum of 300.
And these are only engines, as one of the components. And the total resource of a Soviet fighter is up to 6,000 hours or up to 25 years of operation, during which it must undergo three overhauls. Defense Express reminds that the youngest fighter in Ukraine was 30 years old as of 2021.
With missile weapons the situation is also not getting better with each launch, since there is a question of where to take missiles from, since the fighters are capable of launching the R-27, R-73 and R-60. To some extent, the R-27 and R-73 are still manufactured in Ukraine, including modernized versions, but how many of them are produced now per year is a separate issue.
And the Ukrainian Air Force notes that "stocks of even outdated and ineffective Soviet ammunition for the existing aircraft fleet are steadily decreasing."
That is why, the pilots themselves summarize: the transition to the F-16 or another Western platform with a wide range of modern weapons is the only way out.
Read more: Ukraine, Poland Jointly Establish Technical Center For Repair of T-64 Tanks
