WSJ: US to equip Ukraine's F-16s with state-of-the-art weapons

The United States has decided to equip F-16 fighter jets supplied to Ukraine with modern strike systems, including missiles and bombs.

Source. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing its sources.

The question of what configuration the aircraft will be delivered in has long remained unresolved.

At the first stage, Kyiv is to receive F-16 fighters from Denmark and the Netherlands. The first such aircraft are expected to enter service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces this summer. Belgium and Norway will also send fighter jets.

However, European countries were reluctant to send Ukraine their missiles for the fighter jets because their stocks of such ammunition are limited.

Now, according to the publication, the US has found a way to arm the aircraft with modern systems: European allies will be able to create a fund to jointly purchase the necessary missiles and bombs from the US.

In particular, according to the WSJ, F-16 fighters will be equipped with AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles, JDAM systems (they turn unguided bombs into smart munitions), AMRAAM medium-range missiles and AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles.

According to the publication, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' use of F-16s is fraught with some important challenges, including pilot training, maintenance, and operational requirements.

Ukraine has previously complained about the slow pace of F-16 pilot training due to a lack of places in Western schools. This is how Western officials explained the delay in sending the aircraft to Ukraine, the newspaper writes.

As for the maintenance of the fighter jets, Ukraine planned to carry out most of it on its territory. However, more complex tasks, such as work on aircraft engines, will initially be carried out outside Ukraine, according to a Pentagon source.

Ukraine would like to use the F-16 to fly to the border and launch strikes on Russian territory, but it is not worth counting on it yet, the journalists write. The reason for this is the position of the US administration, which restricts the striking of targets in Russia, as well as the threat from Russian air defence systems.

American officials believe that the F-16 can be most effectively used to destroy ground targets that pose a threat to Ukrainian troops at the front.

The Europeans, however, assure that Western fighters can also be used for air defence and to fight Russian aircraft to push them further away from the front line. This way, the Ukrainian Armed Forces can help solve the problem of massive attacks on Ukrainian positions with guided bombs, the WSJ writes.

Background. As a reminder, a French military source said that the Russians are monitoring the airfields where the Ukrainians will receive the F-16s. F-16s need perfectly smooth runways, so the Russians are recording where repairs are being carried out.