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Ukraine needs 128 fighter jets to achieve supremacy over Russia in the air. Photos/Illustrations
KIEV – Ukraine needs 128 fighter jets to replace old aircraft and achieve air supremacy over Russia. This was announced by the Ukrainian Air Force.
“Ukraine needs 128 combat aircraft to replace its old aircraft fleet – this number is specified in the vision of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, according to state news agency Ukrinform.
He said if 42 fighter jets were handed over to Ukraine, this would be about four aviation brigades.
“It is clear that wars can make adjustments, but more than 100 aircraft are really needed to disperse them to different airfields so that they respond to different challenges and attack different targets: aircraft, ground, rear of the enemy, in particular,” stressed Ihnat as quoted from Al Arabiya, Wednesday (23/8/2023).
The Netherlands and Denmark on Sunday committed to sending up to 42 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine has long debated a strong air defense to protect against Russian airstrikes and be able to counterattack. Earlier this month, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine’s defenses have not been able to protect its entire territory from Russian attacks.
“Unfortunately, our country does not yet have sufficient high-quality air defense systems to protect our entire territory and shoot down all enemy targets. The enemy is taking advantage of this,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky constantly urged his Western allies to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and stressed that the presence of the advanced fighter alongside Ukrainian pilots would serve as a strong global signal that a Russian invasion would ultimately end in failure.
Achieving air supremacy would allow Ukraine to conduct operations unaffected by Russian forces’ aircraft or anti-aircraft systems due to their air dominance and power. In war, air supremacy is the highest degree of control over the air.
If Ukraine achieves air supremacy, it will be able to carry out a variety of missions including aerial bombing, close air support for ground forces, reconnaissance, and transportation with relative impunity.
(ian)
