Yuri Kobzar18:39, 01/06/24
It was planned that the first aircraft would arrive in Ukraine at the end of December.
The delay in the transfer of Danish F-16 fighters to Ukraine is likely caused by problems with the construction of the necessary infrastructure for them in Ukraine, or with issues of reliable airfield cover. The military analytical publication Defense Express writes about this .
The Danish Ministry of Defense does not directly state the reasons for the delay, but admits that “the first six Ukrainian pilots are in the air over Skrydstrup [military airbase] and could be ready for combat flights in the F-16 by spring.” Therefore, the only reasons for the delay that remain are only issues of logistics and the readiness of ground infrastructure in Ukraine.
Its preparation could simply take longer than expected, writes Defense Express and adds that the issue of protecting airfields from missile attacks is no less pressing.
“In general, it is worth recalling once again that the transfer of the F-16 is an extremely complex process, during which certain difficulties may indeed arise. And even the fact that Norway plans to join the training program for pilots of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and plans to send them to Denmark two of its aircraft for these purposes in the spring-summer of this year, directly speaks of the real scale of this program, which in fact may well have its own “pitfalls,” experts note.
Delay in delivery of F-16 to Ukraine – what is known
As UNIAN wrote, today a representative of the Danish Ministry of Defense issued a statement through the Danish media that the transfer of the first six F-16 fighters to Ukraine from Denmark will take place no earlier than the second quarter of 2024. It is alleged that these aircraft were initially planned to be delivered before the New Year.
The Danish Ministry of Defense claims that Ukraine has still not fulfilled a number of conditions so that the Ukrainian Air Force can fully use these fighters. However, exactly what conditions Ukraine did not fulfill is not specified.
However, it is worth noting that at the end of December the Netherlands already began preparing for the imminent transfer of their fighters to Ukraine. Whether this delivery will also be delayed is still unknown.
(C)UNIAN 2024
I watched the video with the female Ukrainian pilot having difficulties to get onto the plane. Training the pilots may simply take more time to prevent Ukraine from losing most birds during the first days of duty. The better prepared/trained the more efficient the Ukrainian Air Force will be.
Absolutely. And the necessary infrastructure is daunting. I saw a new video of her today flying solo in the F16, it seems to me she’s very good. I have no doubt our pilots will be awesome once those birds get the support they need.
What other video did you find of her?
Here’s the video that was posted debunking the story.
Ah, gotcha, I didn’t know it was a different person. I suppose I should change the feature articles, lol. Thanks Sir Bill.
Was just informed the Female F-16 Fighter Pilot story is being debunked. I ate some crow on it. Let me know if you want me to pull it.
Yeah. Better remove it. We don’t promote fake news. Not your fault. Happened to all of us from time to time.
That video was fake, Ryan McBeth pointed out.
It was in fact an American female pilot, whom actually won a miss competition.
The Ukrainian flag on her clothing was just photoshopped there.
^bert
I fell for it too btw, I even showed it to someone else.
Yeah, I saw the video…that you or Someone posted.