Ukraine Gets First Delivery of US-Made F-16 Fighter Jets

Ukraine has received its first batch of US-made F-16 fighter jets from NATO, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, marking an escalation of the alliance’s involvement in the proxy war.

Bloomberg’s sources did not say how many planes had arrived, only that it was a “small” number. They also said it was not immediately clear if Ukrainian pilots trained by Western countries to fly the F-16s could use them right away or if the process would take longer.

The Washington Post recently reported that only six Ukrainian pilots were expected to finish the training by this summer. If the F-16s are put in use soon, they’re expected to operate far from the frontlines as US officials fear they could be easily downed by Russian air defense systems.

Denmark and Norway are supplying the first batch of planes, and Belgium and Norway have also pledged to provide Ukraine with F-16s, but most won’t be delivered for years. The US hasn’t promised to provide the jets but has helped with training and will arm the F-16s with advanced missiles.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the US had agreed to arm the Ukrainian F-16s with “AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles; the extended-range versions of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, which convert unguided bombs to smart weapons; and so-called small diameter bombs that explode with a tight blast radius. In addition, the U.S. will send advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, known as AMRAAM, and AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles for the jets.”

Initially sold as a “game changer” for the Ukrainian military, the F-16s are not expected to have much impact on the battlefield. NATO countries first pledged to provide the jets in May 2023 after getting the OK from President Biden.