Denmark's delay in F-16 delivery to Ukraine: insights from Defense Express

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

The Defense Express military expert commented on the statement of the Danish Defense Minister on the supply of the first F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine in the spring of next year, not in the winter, as previously expected in Ukraine.

"This is very bad news, but it is obvious that the responsibility is shared equally. Initially, the Danish partners overestimated their technical capabilities to restore those aircraft and made unrealistic promises. We also have some work to do – we need to organize not only runways and establish maintenance processes, but also build a sufficient number of protected hangars," said the Defense Express expert.

Ivan Kyrychevskyi added that both sides of the process overestimated their capabilities.

"We could have had certain expectations, both public and parts of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, who had to make plans for air defense this winter. Now there will be no such local reinforcement in the form of F-16s. But on the other hand, the situation is not so bad. Some of the EUR 1 billion worth of air defense equipment that Germany announced in its recent aid package is due in December of this year or January of next year. If not additional fighter jets, then at least additional air defense systems will be delivered. However, in terms of efficiency, the F-16 is much better than the Patriot battery," Kyrychevskyi summarized.

• On October 9, at the annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Copenhagen, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that the kingdom is trying to attract more countries to provide Ukraine with Western F-16s.

• On October 11, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that the country would be able to provide Ukraine with the first F-16s in March-April 2024.