Air Force spox explains why Ukraine needs F-16 aircraft
"We need to protect the country against aerial terrorism. We need F-16 aircraft not only to shield the front line and gain superiority in the air. They are necessary, among other things, to protect the objects of critical infrastructure of Ukraine with seven nuclear power plants among them," Yuriy Ihnat, Spokesperson for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said during the national news telethon.
He noted that MiG-29s, which partner countries provide to Ukraine, are not capable of effectively downing cruise missiles and drones. At the same time, according to Ihnat, Ukrainian pilots do the impossible things, "squeezing out of MIGs everything they can."
"We need F-16s that can do this with 100 percent efficiency, shooting down Kalibr and Kh-101 missiles and Shahed drones," the spokesperson emphasized.
As reported, during the Committee on Armed Services hearings at the end of March, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd James Austin III said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine could receive F-16 fighters in the future.
