{"id":108462,"date":"2024-08-05T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T15:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/05\/ukraine-begins-deploying-f-16-fighter-jets\/"},"modified":"2024-08-05T15:17:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T15:17:08","slug":"ukraine-begins-deploying-f-16-fighter-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/05\/ukraine-begins-deploying-f-16-fighter-jets\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine begins deploying F-16 fighter jets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ukraine<\/div>


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Ukrainian pilots have begun flying F-16s for operations – in what they hope will be a major turning point in their ongoing conflict with Russia.<\/p>\n

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a><\/strong> was keen to show off the F-16s, which Kyiv has long lobbied for<\/strong><\/a>, at a Ukrainian air base<\/p>\n

“F-16s are in Ukraine<\/strong><\/a>,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We did it. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country.”<\/p>\n

The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet that has been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO<\/strong><\/a> alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years.<\/p>\n

Built by Lockheed Martin, they have been on Ukraine’s wish list for a long time because Kyiv hopes they can be used to defend their skies from Russian attack and level the playing field in terms of air superiority – an important part of modern warfare.<\/p>\n

The fighter jets are equipped with a 20mm cannon and can carry bombs, rockets, and missiles.<\/p>\n

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\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows off the F-16s at a military base in Ukraine. Pic: AP
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\n \"Ukraine's\n <\/div>
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\n He says the fighter jets will boost their military strength. Pic: AP
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The arrival of the jets last week was a milestone for Ukraine, though it remains unclear how many are available and how much of an impact they will have in enhancing air defences and on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy admits Ukraine does not have enough pilots trained to use the F-16s or enough of the jets themselves: “The positive thing is that we are expecting additional F-16s… many guys are now training,” he said.<\/p>\n

It is important, he said, that Kyiv’s allies find ways to expand training programmes and opportunities for both Ukrainian pilots and engineering teams.<\/p>\n

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\n \"The\n <\/div>
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\n The F-16s are older jets donated by Western allies. Pic: AP
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\n F-16s flying over a military base in Ukraine. Pic: AP
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Although new to Ukraine, the F-16s are actually older jets provided by Western allies.<\/p>\n

F-16s are operated by several countries, including Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark – some of whom have pledged their aircraft to Ukraine<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Russia<\/a><\/strong> has been targeting bases that may house them and vowed to shoot them down.<\/p>\n

Read more from Sky News:
Ukraine claims it has sunk Russian sub<\/a>
Why are Western firms still operating in Russia?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ukraine has previously relied on an ageing fleet of Soviet-era warplanes which are outgunned by Russia’s more advanced and bigger fleet.<\/p>\n

Russia has used that edge to conduct regular long-range missile strikes on targets on frontline positions and across Ukraine with thousands of guided bombs, supporting its forces that are slowly advancing in the east.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian pilots have begun flying F-16s for operations – in what they hope will be a major turning point in their ongoing conflict with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was keen to show off the F-16s, which Kyiv has long lobbied for, at a Ukrainian air base “F-16s are in Ukraine,” he said. “We did it. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/08\/768x432\/skynews-f-16-f16-ukraine_6647875.jpg?20240805104226","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4509,89659,44205,72,8313,1130],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108464,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108462\/revisions\/108464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}