Ukraine already using Dutch F-16s against Russian missile attacks

Ukraine has received several F-16 fighter jets from Western countries, including at least one from the Netherlands, and is already using them against the Russian aggressor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that to NOS after days of rumors and speculation.

“I cannot go into details about the missions that our first F-16s will carry out or have already carried out. Hopefully, you understand that I cannot comment on that,” Zelenskyy told NOS.

Ukraine currently has around ten F-16s, and that number should double by the end of the year. “Our partners know that the number of trained pilots is still too small,” Zelenskyy said. “But the positive thing is: more planes are coming. And there are also more pilots in training.”

Zelenskyy explicitly thanked the countries that complied with his request for air defense against Russian attacks—Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United States. He also thanked the pilots for their hard training. “I hope you feel the pride of the Ukrainians in the Air Force,” he said.

According to former Air Force officer Patrick Bolder, now a defense analyst, the F-16s will likely mainly focus on defending Ukrainian cities from the air. “They will hunt Russian cruise missiles. They can maneuver nicely behind them,” Bolder told NOS. That has the added advantage of carrying out missions above “relatively safe” home territory for pilots still gaining experience, and hence also protecting Ukraine’s scarce pilots and planes. “The Ukrainians can’t take too many risks. Also, because they do not have that many pilots yet.”

Bolder expects that the F-16s will also be used to keep Russian bombers at a distance - “If they see an F-16 on their radar, they know it has a missile range of 100 kilometers. That drives them back.” - and to look for the ground-based Russian air defense.

Only once the Ukrainians are stronger in the air can they start thinking about using the F-16s to support their ground troops, Bolder thinks. That also requires a lot of experience and accuracy from the pilots. “Bombing the Russian trenches is very difficult because they are so close to the Ukrainian ones,” he told NOS. “You have to train for that for a long time.”