Ukraine can get missiles with a range of 500 km for F-16 - Nayev
Experts estimate that launch from Sumy region will cover Moscow's outskirts
The fighter jets agreed to be supplied by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium will be equipped with missiles with a range of up to 500 km, the commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhiy Nayev, said on Monday.
According to the Russian media, the missiles in question are likely to be AGM-158 JASSM missiles, which are manufactured by the US concern Lockheed Martin, guided by satellite navigation and have an optoelectronic system that allows them to hit targets accurately.
The range of these missiles will allow them to reach the city of Tula (a distance of 453 km) when launched from the borders of Kharkiv region. A launch from the borders of Sumy Oblast would also cover the outskirts of Moscow, including the Rublevo-Uspenskoye highway, where the country houses of the Russian elite and the presidential residence of Novo-Ogaryovo are located (490 km away).
F-16s with long-range missiles will allow the Ukrainian Defence Forces to "achieve even greater success on the battlefield and liberate the territory from the enemy," Nayev said.
Earlier it became known that Ukraine has already received a small number of ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 160 km from its Western allies, as well as British Storm Shadow missiles with a range of about 300 km in the export version.
Ukraine has long been asking for German Taurus missiles with a range of 500 km, capable of flying at extremely low altitudes (about 50 m) and therefore virtually "invisible" to radar. However, the German authorities did not dare to support this request, citing the fact that the United States also refrains from transferring long-range versions of ATACMS (300 km).
In January, the Bundestag rejected a resolution to transfer Taurus to Kyiv by 485 votes to 178.
In total, Ukraine will receive several dozen F-16s, which are already being trained by Ukrainian pilots at bases in the UK, the US, and Romania.
Denmark plans to deliver 19 fighter jets to Kyiv, but is delaying the delivery: instead of early 2024, it will take place in the second quarter. The Netherlands agreed to provide 18 aircraft, and in February announced plans to increase this number to 24.
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