Ukraine to keep some new F-16 fighter jets at allied air bases

Ukrainian Air Force Command's aviation chief Serhii Holubtsov has said that Ukraine will keep some new F-16 fighter jets at the foreign air bases of its allies to protect them from Russian strikes.

“Four countries have already vowed to provide Ukraine with F-16s, though the number of planes could grow, as almost every country that has F-16s in service is gradually replacing them with F-35s," Holubtsov told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), according to The New Voice of Ukraine.

"As for 30 planes, maybe 40, not all planes transferred to Ukraine will be supplied to Ukraine," he said.

"Some will remain in those centres where our pilots and aviation personnel are trained. These will be the Ukrainian planes which are used to train our pilots. This should not surprise anyone. Some fighter jets will be supplied to Ukraine, others will be stored at safe air bases, not in Ukraine, so they are not targeted here," Holubtsov said.

“These planes will be a reserve, if necessary to replace faulty aircraft, during routine maintenance. We can always have a certain number of aircraft in operational inventory that will correspond to the number of pilots we will have. If Ukraine trains more pilots, more F-16s will be stationed at bases inside Ukraine,” he said.

“It is unknown how many F-16s will be promised to Ukraine in the long term, and this could be an advantage, as with each aviation coalition conference, Kyiv receives additional positive forecasts, and additional information to allow us to make this process systematic," he added.