Providing Ukraine with F-16s will give Russia a free hand to attack NATO
Ukrainian pilots will need at least a year to learn how to fly American F-16 fighters.
Major General of Aviation and Chairman of the Presidium of the "Officers of Russia" Sergei Lipovoy stated this in an interview with NSN, commenting on the destruction of a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Learning to fly a modern fighter is not a matter of one week. This is at least 6 months – just flying. And in order to successfully use it in a combat situation, you need the same amount,” Lipovoy said.
However, he is confident that the F-16s will be delivered to Ukraine.
“The fact that the issue of supplying F-16s to the Northern Military District zone is now being actively studied is a matter of time. A year ago, the West swore that it would only supply small arms. But when our units seized the initiative and began to successfully attack the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they said: we will supply you with anything, as long as you fight. To date, Kyiv has received 90% of what it requested. Only submarines and fighters remained. I believe it’s a matter of time,” Lipovoy said.
At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine does not have the necessary airfields to receive such aircraft.
“The Americans and NATO understand perfectly well that the F-16 fighters require a complex engineering and airfield network, which does not exist on Ukrainian territory. This means they will need to be transferred to the territory of Poland and other neighboring NATO states. As soon as the first fighter takes off from their territory and flies into the territory of Ukraine, this will automatically indicate that NATO has officially entered the war against Russia. Then Russia has the right to consider all airfields where these fighters will be located as military targets. Then Russia will have a free hand,” Lipovoy said.
Providing Ukraine with F-16s will free up Russia's hands for attacks on NATO.