The Netherlands and Denmark have said they will definitely give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine once conditions for the transfer have been met, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Sunday as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited his country.
So my father has been of the opinion that this is it. Russians lose after air support and ukraine gains superiority. I keep telling him WW1 is the blueprint here however.
Who is right?
I’d say these are both pretty extreme perspectives. The F16 is not going to be the wonder weapon that leads to instant victory because Russia still has a lot of anti-air capabilities and the F16 is not a stealth platform. It will however have a role in countering their air raids and long range missiles.
While there are some parallels to the trench warfare of WW1, the constant capture and subsequent loss of ground is not what’s been happening. There is (slow) progress being made at multiple fronts. I’d say a more accurate comparison could be to the allied breakout from Normandy in WW2.
In any case the F16s will be a valuable weapon in Ukraine’s combined arms.
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Last I was told neither side wants to be too bold with their aircraft because they can’t overcome air defence. Unless Ukraine can overcome combined Russian AA and aircraft and really run amok, it can only be seen as one key piece in a large picture.
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