F-16 fighter jet coalition: Is the West preparing Ukraine for a suicide mission?

With much bravado, the West has come together to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and the United States has given a green signal as well. But why is the US asking European allies to supply American-made jets to Ukraine instead of doing so on its own? And why are Western nations so eager to hand over their F-16s to Ukraine? All the optics aside, what is the F-16 coalition? What is the West’s F-16 game plan?

THE SO-CALLED 'F-16 COALITION'

A coalition of European countries is gearing up to help Ukraine operate US-built F-16 fighter jets. They will train Ukrainian pilots to fly these beasts and will eventually supply the jets to Ukraine. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands formed the coalition on May 16, 2023. Belgium, Denmark and Poland have all shown similar interest.

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WHEN WILL UKRAINE GET F-16s?

Training pilots for a new jet can take well over a year, but a recent US Air Force report indicated that the training for Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 can in fact be completed in just four months

But when exactly will Ukraine receive the F-16s? Well, pardon the pun, but it's still up in the air.

OLD STOCK DUMPING?

Most Western nations like the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Poland are in the process of phasing out their F-16s now. They will be replaced with the more advanced American F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

So when the US encourages Western allies to support Ukraine, they’re essentially dumping their old fleet of retired F-16s onto Ukraine to buy new ones.

Guess who will benefit? It's a no-brainer. The US military complex will continue to thrive with more sales of fighter jets. Lockheed Martin’s COO, Frank St. John spoke to Financial Times and mentioned that Lockheed Martin will "ramp up production of F-16s in Greenville (South Carolina) to get to where we can backfill pretty capably any countries that choose to do third-party transfers to help with the current conflict".

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F-16 FLEET FOR UKRAINE: A SUICIDE MISSION?

Just evaluate the situation – on one side you have Ukrainian pilots flying F-16 jets rejected by the West, also with bare minimum pilot training.

And on the other hand, you have Russia equipped with the S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system, against which the F-16s will probably not stand a chance.

In any case, some military experts have said F-16s are not going to be a game changer, despite all the brouhaha. Having said that, it's clear the Russians will surely see Ukraine’s F-16 usage as an escalation and could deploy its own jets in retaliation which are far superior.

Do you also feel it's going to be a suicide mission for Ukraine?

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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