With F-16 Ukraine will get air superiority, and Russia will not be able to attack with KABs - military expert

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"The oldest modifications of the F-16, they have a basic modification with a range of about 100-120 km and the AIM-120 missile used in NASAMS, which we have, is 40 km, but on an F-16 aircraft, it can go 100-120 km. Therefore, Russian planes will not be able to approach the front line, we simply will not allow them with the help of F-16s," the military expert believes.

Svitan noted that in this case, the Russian military will not drop anything on themselves, and the bomb will not fly more than 70 kilometers, no matter how high it is lifted. 

"There are laws of aerodynamics that will not allow anything to be planned for a range of more than 70 kilometers. Therefore, with the advent of the F-16, this will definitely stop, and this will be the gaining of air superiority. We will succeed because we will be able to destroy the Russian S-400 systems. The coolest system the Russians have is the S-400. It is a well-painted S-300, as it turned out," he emphasized.

F-16 fighters for Ukraine: what is known

On May 21, US President Joe Biden approved the training of Ukrainians on F-16s. Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine would not use these aircraft to strike at Russian territory. 

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that the first F-16 fighter jets are likely to fly in Ukraine's skies by the end of March 2024.

On August 17, the United States approved the shipment of F-16 multi-role fighters to Ukraine.

At the same time, Denmark said it would supply Ukraine with the aircraft if they were not used in Russia. 

The Netherlands will provide 42 fighter jets. At the same time, Norway will provide Ukraine with F-16s, but the exact number is unknown.

On September 15, Belgium joined the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. Earlier, the Belgian Defense Ministry said it would not provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters because they are outdated and in poor condition. Such aircraft are dangerous to operate.

On September 27, it was reported that in 2024, the Netherlands plans to transfer the first batch of F-16 fighters to Ukraine.