The Ukrainian Air Force will initially use the first Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets very cautiously, probably no less than 40 kilometers from the front line, writes Business Insider.
U.S. and European sources confirmed earlier this week that the first promised F-16s have been delivered to Ukraine, but the number is not large. Ukraine has only a few aircraft and only a few pilots trained to operate them. In addition, Russia has its own planes and air defenses that can shoot them down.
The small number of aircraft and pilots means that Ukraine must first avoid casualties in order to be able to fly the F-16 for as long as possible.
F-16s must be “well protected“ on the ground and be deployed primarily for operations in Ukrainian airspace where they are most protected. The main threat to them comes from Russian long-range air defense systems (S-400) and Russian fighter jets that remain in Russian airspace but launch long-range air-to-air missiles into Ukrainian airspace.
If the Ukrainian F-16s get close to the front line, they will have to stay "very" low altitude to avoid Russian radar, experts say. Getting closer than 40 km to the front line will greatly increase the risk. Pilots are likely to stay away initially while they continue to gain experience with the aircraft.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian forces are ready to shoot down the first batch of F-16 fighter jets that arrived in Ukraine and that they will not be a "panacea" for the army of Kyiv.