Ukraine receives French Mirage and additional Dutch F-16
Ukraine receives French Mirage and additional Dutch F-16
The Ukrainian Air Force received an important thrust in Fight against Russia by arriving from Mirage 2000-5 Fighter jets from France and F-16 aircraft Netherlands.
Transmission of the Mirage Kampfjets
The French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu confirmed the handover of the Mirage jets in a contribution to X and added that the combat aircraft were flown by Ukrainian pilots who have been training in France for months. France President Emmanuel Macron promised the Mirage jets last summer of Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian sky is becoming safer!" Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in a post on Facebook. He welcomed the arrival "of the first French Mirage 2000 fighter jets and F-16 from the Kingdom of the Netherlands" and said: "These modern fighter planes have already arrived in Ukraine and will soon take over orders for combat missions, which strengthens our defense and improves our ability to effectively counteract Russian aggression."
thanks to France
The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj thanked Macron for "his leadership and support" on Thursday. "The President of France holds his word and we appreciate that," said Selenskyj in a post on X.
expected skills of the new fighter jets
The new fighter jets are expected to improve the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to offer air protection for soil troops, attack soil goals, intercept enemy aircraft and to intercept and intercept rockets.
The latter role could be crucial because Russia intensified its rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities and often starts dozens of attacks in one night, which stresses the air defense systems of Ukraine.Last week a Russian At least in central Ukraine 14 people, reported the emergency services.
services of the Ukrainian Air Force
In January, the Ukrainian Air Force reported in a Facebook post that one of her F-16 pilots destroyed six Russian rockets in one night in December. The military aviation analyst Peter Layton from the Griffith Asia Institute said that the Mirages were best suited for air defense, causing F-16S to be released for other missions.
"I would keep the (Mirages) on alert so that you can start within a few minutes to intercept incoming cruise missiles (main goals) and Shahed drones (secondary goals)," said Layton.
strategic possibilities of the Mirage-Jets
Mirages could also be used to fire long -range missiles such as the Scalp, also known as Storm Shadow, to goals deep within Russia, said Layton, a former officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton noticed that the Mirages of Ukraine could offer another platform to attack the Russian Black Sea fleet, since the jets can wear French exocet-anti-ship racers.
The air fleet of Ukraine
Ukraine needs any support that can receive in her almost three years of war that was triggered by Russia's invasion in 2022. There was no relaxation in combat, even after US President Donald Trump had promised to quickly achieve an armistice.
The Ukrainian army will continue to be Prooped back in view of the superior Russian troop strength and resources. The announcements on Thursday did not specify the number of fighter jets that were transferred to Ukraine by the two NATO allies, but the country has only had a few western fighter planes.
The Ukraine received its first f-16 Netherlands, Denmark and the United States, where the F-16S are manufactured, thanked for the planes without specifying the delivery quantity.
Current situation of combat aircraft in Ukraine
In reports since then it has been mentioned that two F-16 have been lost. A list of Flight Global's global fighter planes shows that at the beginning of this year two F-16 are in the Air Force of Ukraine, with 58 more in order.
At the beginning of 2025 26 Mirage 2000-5,France was active in his Air Force, according to Flight Global. These aircraft are among the oldest jets in the French fleet and are to be replaced by Rafale jets in the coming years. It is not known how many of them will be handed over to Ukraine.
Leighton reported that current estimates indicate that Ukraine could receive a total of 95 f-16 and about two dozen Mirages. "No aircraft type will be available to Ukraine in sufficient numbers to offer the aerial combat skills that Ukraine needs with Russia in this phase of its war," he added. "Under ideal circumstances, the Ukrainian Air Force should have around 200 to 220 fighter jets."
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