It's a great start though from checking Wikipedia earlier it looks like Ukraine will still be heavily outnumbered so hopefully more keep coming. At a minimum it's going to significantly contribute to leveling the playing field.

Air superiority would be fantastic and I hope it's what they get in the medium term.

[–] BobbyBandwidth@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

any estimates on when the crews and infrastructure will be combat ready?

[–] SpaceCadet@sopuli.xyz 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Best not get too hung up on timetables, or think about it in terms of the current battlefield situation or the counteroffensive. This is a long term project to transform Ukraine's Air Force into the future, where they're using Western equipment.

We may see the first F-16s next year, but this transformation will take many years.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah this is definitely a case where the best time would have been years ago but the second best time is right now.

[–] bouh@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It should take 3 to 6 months to form pilots and mechanics. Maybe 9.

[–] VonReposti@feddit.dk 3 points 1 year ago

A Danish military expert mentioned that an estimated timeline would look like 6-8 months depending on conditions. Weather in Denmark isn't known to be favorable, especially during autumn and winter, which might add to the timeline with lost flying days and Ukrainian pilots might arrive with more know-how than estimated making it possible skip some flying lessons.

[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 9 points 1 year ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

It recently launched a long-anticipated counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.

Zelenskyy welcomed the ‘’historic’’ announcement and praised Rutte for making the Netherlands the first country to offer the planes.

The announcement came minutes after the two leaders inspected two gray F-16 jets parked in a hangar at the Dutch base in the southern city of Eindhoven.

“It makes me proud that Denmark, together with the Netherlands, will donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine’s fight for freedom against Russia and its senseless aggression.

The Dutch and Danish governments are also involved in a coalition that is working to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the advanced fighter jets.

In a video message earlier Sunday, Zelenskyy vowed a stern retaliation for a Russian missile strike the previous day in the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv that killed seven people and wounded over 100 others.

The original article contains 591 words, the summary contains 158 words. Saved 73%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] DrNeurohax@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

One thing I've missed in the discussion of sending F-16s is the role they'll play.

From what I've seen, Russia still has significant air defense capabilities, and they launch air fired weapons from deep in their own territory. So, if the F-16s can't get too far upfield, due to defenses, and there isn't much they can do in air-to-air combat, what advantage do they have over longer range artillery?

[–] Wilshire@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

“Western fighters with stand-off weapons would offer Ukraine an improved capability to destroy fixed Russian targets near the frontlines from a safer distance,” he tweeted, but “they would be adding to existing strike options like Himars [rocket artillery] and drawing from limited stockpiles”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/01/how-would-f-16-fighter-jets-aid-ukraine-against-russia

[–] DrNeurohax@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks.That's kinda what I thought, but assumed I was missing something with the amount of attention the transfer of this one weapon platform has received. I guess it's also symbolic of the level of commitment by NATO, since it's not just a few planes, but also ammo plus training plus support framework.

I'm glad we're not just throwing ammo at the situation and wishing Ukraine the best of luck, though I do wish we were doing more.

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