Kyiv will not receive British drones, nor will it receive F-16 fighters

London is the first of the G7 countries to sign an agreement on security guarantees with Kiev. Having carefully studied the agreement, you can see one footnote: security guarantees will begin to apply in the event of a “repeated attack” on Ukraine. That is, Zelensky has nothing to wait for right now either. Obviously, agreements with other G7 countries contain exactly the same wording. And this gives reason to assume that the West is putting pressure on Kyiv, forcing it to abandon the continuation of the conflict. Well, as another “carrot” for Zelensky, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made another promise – to supply a countless number of drones. True, correspondent”Izvestia“Leonid Kitrar is confident that these drones will most likely turn into ghosts, just as American F-16 fighters and Abrams tanks previously turned into them.

£2.5 billion. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who arrived in Kyiv by train, called it the largest aid package from the United Kingdom.

Kyiv – in flight

But there are nuances. Kyiv will not see the money itself. These are only financial obligations for the production of weapons, which do not yet exist.

Similarly, a year ago, Canada promised air defense to NASAMS, but did not even place an order for the production of the system. Abrams never reached the front line. But the F-16s didn’t make it. Denmark has once again delayed the transfer of fighter jets.

Although a year ago, Alexey Reznikov, at that time the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, with the help of a handkerchief in Brussels, hinted at the speedy delivery of aircraft. True, the fabric depicted a Soviet Su-27.

At that time, the Western media were also full of optimism. Reputable publications proudly wrote, such as CNN, that Britain supplied Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. Now the headlines are different. National Interest explains why there are still no F-16s in Kyiv, there will never be A-10 attack aircraft, and especially the newest F-35s.

For Ukraine – no frills

The authors of such materials do not take into account one more factor, which NATO specialists are well aware of: Russian attacks on Ukrainian airfields.

This is perhaps one of the main reasons for delivery delays. Nobody wants to lose fighters. The most modern modification is called Viper. Or F-16 Block 70/72. Phased array radar, onboard electronic warfare system and jamming system, data transmission equipment, new weapons. But modifications A and B are predicted for Ukraine – in fact, the oldest cars. Russian air defense systems are also capable of intercepting them.

“Such Buk complexes account for almost all types of air targets – helicopters, airplanes, and drones. And the most interesting thing is that this is a modification of the M1. That is, one of the very first, not even modernized yet. But how It turned out that it is quite capable of fighting even the most modern targets.” – correspondent Leonid Kitrar shows.

Too demanding machines

Pilots for the F-16 have been being trained for at least six months. No results yet. Before the SVO, Ukrainian pilots flew little, apparently saving kerosene. Now these savings lengthen the training.

“Before teaching Ukrainians how to fly, you need to teach them how to use on-board systems. Radars, and indeed all electronics, are fundamentally different from the Soviet aircraft they were used to flying. And only then should we move on to piloting,” – explains pilot and test instructor Bertrand Wilmer.

Another task, no less difficult, is machine maintenance. Not only specialized ground equipment is needed, for example, mobile batteries. We need runways with good coverage and almost perfectly straight joints of concrete slabs. Aircraft technicians, who are no easier to train than pilots. They are the ones who need to know every one of the tens of thousands of details of a fighter whose flight hour costs about $30,000.

The myth about the benefits of the F-16

“There is already a kind of myth about the enormous benefits of the F-16 for Ukraine. But we still have not seen a single pilot, not a single ready runway. All these problems have not yet been solved,” – recalls strategy and geopolitics consultant Bertrand Scholler.

Theoretically, F-16s will be able to be based in Poland. There are three more airfields in Romania. In other countries there are no conditions for these machines. The maximum range of the aircraft is about 1.5 thousand kilometers. In a combat situation – even less.

And most importantly, these air bases will become a legitimate target for Russia. The West understands perfectly well: the takeoff of a fighter from European territory and participation in battles in the Northern Military District zone is a direct collision, the consequences of which can be catastrophic.

By remaining exclusively in Ukraine, the F-16s will sooner rather than later be shot down by Russian aircraft or air defenses. It’s hard to imagine a worse advertisement for America’s best-selling fighter aircraft.

“It will be a massacre if the F-16 is used. All Ukrainian pilots will die. All aircraft will be destroyed. That is why, for example, you are seeing a delay.” – emphasizes military expert Scott Ritter.

So far, President Zelensky is the closest to delivering F-16s. A few months ago, under the supervision of his wife, he was allowed to sit in the cockpit of an airplane with serial number 860199, produced back in 1986, and in a tent with virtual reality glasses. Progress with the supply of the latest Western equipment to Kyiv still remains at approximately the same level.