Are there any signs that Ukraine finally receives its first F-16s?

Amid the very long wait for Ukraine to receive its first F-16 multi-role fighters, the first insight in the Western press is that these aircraft have already been deployed to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to Bloomberg, the first F-16s were delivered to Ukraine on time, by July 31. Their number is insignificant, and it is not known whether the Air Force is ready to start using the fighters immediately.

At the same time, Defense Express wonders whether it is possible to find evidence that this landmark event did take place. 

In particular, one may recall that a video has recently appeared showing an F-16 allegedly in the sky of Ukraine.

But all that can be said is that the video is indeed of an F-16 and that it was filmed in the warm season. Whether it was in Ukraine, the United States, Europe or another part of the world with a similar climate is unknown and cannot be verified.

There were also no clear deadlines with specific dates. Even when it came to summer, there was only one optimistic specification - the summer of 2024. Which was not enough, given the first deadline of early 2024. And on July 19, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Polish government had made a certain decision that would allow Ukraine to receive the F-16 faster. But what it was about remained unknown.

Another marker of the possible arrival of F-16s in Ukraine could be an abnormal long-range strike by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian air bases. But the nighttime strike on July 31, although indeed massive, consisted of only 89 drones and one Kh-59 missile. At the same time, it was the enemy's refusal to launch a cruise missile strike that was abnormal, even though there were three Kalibr submarine carriers at sea and Tu-95MS missile carriers in the sky.

The reasons for abandoning the combined strike remain unknown. Another anomaly of this strike, but a positive one, was its 100% effectiveness of air defense. Could this indicate the appearance of F-16s, which took part in repelling the attack, causing the enemy to change its plans - perhaps, but not with 100% certainty.

Thus, so far, there is no single fact that would prove for sure that the long-awaited F-16s have arrived in Ukraine. At the same time, in today's information age, it is unlikely that the reinforcement of the Ukrainian Air Force will be kept secret for long.