MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. The F-16 fighter jets that arrived in Ukraine recently will eventually be destroyed as they can’t compete with the Russian Su-35S, the Russian industrial conglomerate Rostec said.
"If you look at the specifications of the US-made aircraft, the conclusion is unambiguous: It is not a rival to the Su-35S, much less the Su-57. In a head-on air combat, our jets are superior to the US fighter jets. The F-16 is not the newest jet, but this is no reason to rejoice and relax. The jet can carry advanced missile systems and can cause a lot of problems. Nevertheless, they, as the rest of Western equipment, will face the same end: destruction," the state-owned corporation said.
On August 4, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had taken the first delivery of F-16 fighter jets from Western allies. He did not specify how many aircraft were handed over and where they would be based. Before that, the Economist reported that Ukraine had received 10 F-16 jets from Western countries, and it is planned to increase that number to 20 by the end of the year. According to the report, Ukraine can count on a total of 79 F-16 jets, which the West will continue to transfer incrementally throughout 2025.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that deliveries of new weapons, including F-16s, to Ukraine would not change the situation on the battlefield, but would lead to a prolongation of the situation. He also said the fighter jets, if Ukraine comes to operate them, will burn just like any other much-touted Western military equipment.