A fighter jet “coalition” is to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggressors. F-16 fighter jets are to be made available to the country under the leadership of the Netherlands and Great Britain. Military expert Marcus Keupp explains why the F-16 can be so important.
After the announcement of a fighter jet “coalition”, the debate now revolves around the question: which jets? The focus is on F-16 machines. Kiev has expressed a preference for the fighter jet of the US defense company Lockheed Martin, which is used by 25 countries around the world.
Nicknamed the Fighting Falcon, the single-engine aircraft was developed in the 1970s as an agile, inexpensive, and versatile fighter jet. At that time, the USA concluded an agreement with the NATO partners Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands for the production of the fighter jet. The first F-16 aircraft was delivered in 1979.
Military economist: F-16s would ‘certainly take Ukraine to a new level’
In an interview with ZDF, military economist Marcus Keupp gives three reasons in favor of the F-16:
- “A big problem for Ukraine is still that the Russian air force can still penetrate Ukrainian airspace and launch their cruise missiles from there.”, explains Keupp. That can be significantly reduced with the F-16. In addition, Ukraine can demonstrate its superiority in dogfights.
- Another reason is the wear and tear of the Ukrainian air force, which is still working with old Soviet technology. The longer the war lasts, the more Ukraine would benefit from a swap to Western systems.
- The third reason concerns the so-called JDMS ammunition. Ammunition that can be used to convert normal bombs into precision weapons. JDMS or the converted weapons are deployed from combat aircraft. Keupp: “F-16 is the best launch system for the JDMS ammunition.” The F-16 and munitions combo would ‘certainly take Ukraine to a new level’classifies the military economist.
The F-16 fighter jet, which comes in one-seat and two-seat versions, is almost 15 meters long and has a wingspan of almost 10 meters. It carries a 20mm multi-barreled cannon and can be equipped with missiles and bombs.
According to Lockheed Martin, more than 4,500 F-16s were built. Among the customers are Israel, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Taiwan. Germany does not have F-16s.
