MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Complete dependence of the Ukrainian army on the United States for maintenance and updating the F-16 fighter jets creates many risks and makes the use of these aircraft problematic, retired Ukrainian Colonel Roman Svitan said.
"About the planes. The best option is, realizing that the Americans will now be waggling around, it's better for us to completely switch to the French technology: Mirage, Rafale <...> F-16, its provision is completely tied to the Americans, they do not give away any keys or upgrades, and this is a problem because the Russians are constantly updating their methods of electronic warfare," he said as broadcast by Ukraine’s Channel 24.
Svitan added that while there are difficulties in interacting with Washington, the F-16s will have to be used in an air defense mode in the rear without taking them into the combat zone.
Earlier, the Forbes magazine reported that along with the suspension of military support for Ukraine, the United States would stop updating the electronic warfare software installed on the F-16s, which interferes with radars. The magazine said that the locators regularly change operating frequencies and will soon become useless without updating the electronic warfare system.
On March 7, Ukraine reported the first use of a French Mirage fighter "in response to an air alert." France’s Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said Paris transferred the first such aircraft to Kiev on February 6. He did not specify how many fighters Paris plans to supply, but according to media reports, it could be no more than six.
The exact number of F-16s transferred to Ukraine has not been disclosed, either. The Netherlands said it would supply Ukraine with 24 fighter jets, after which there were reports about the "first transferred" aircraft, but their exact number was never mentioned. In November 2024, Denmark said that six F-16 fighter jets had been transferred to Ukraine and that 13 more aircraft were to be delivered. After that Vladimir Zelensky said Ukraine received a second batch of aircraft from Denmark, without specifying their number. According to many experts, the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine will not mean qualitative changes and will not alter the balance of power in the combat zone.