No problem with infrastructure for F-16s as they “have already landed” in Ukraine - Air Force

This was reported by the spokesman for the Air Force Command, Yuriy Ihnat, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent saw.

"F-16s have already landed in Ukraine during Euro-2012... They landed on our runways and they were okay there. Our pilots even had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with them... That is, the Western Fs have already been to our airfields," the spokesman said.

He added that there were also trainings in 2018, when pilots shared their experience.

Ihnat also explained that there are no special infrastructure problems for modern Western-made fighter jets in Ukraine.

"Most of our military airfields have a runway made of concrete slabs. There are seams that need to be ironed. If you properly prepare those runways, then there will be no problems in general. The F-16s still have the issue of a low air intake that can suck in foreign objects. It's dangerous, and you have to be aware of that, you have to keep the runway clean," the spokesman added.

According to him, nowadays, as the war grinds on, in addition to the condition of runways and keeping them clear, other logistics must be taken care of, which will protect the planes amid ongoing hostilities, so that the enemy cannot destroy them at airfields.

As reported, on August 20, the Netherlands and Denmark announced the decision to hand a number of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots and maintenance specialists have already started mastering the aircraft. Denmark intends to deliver the first batch of F-16s to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Photo: milavia.net