Ukraine will not be able to immediately abandon Soviet aircraft in favor of Western ones, and French military aircraft can coexist at Ukrainian airfields with American and Soviet ones, the head of the Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday, Reuters reports.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has pressured Western allies to supply increasingly sophisticated weapons and ammunition, including armored vehicles, tanks, long-range missiles and US F-16 fighter jets.
The first F-16s are expected to arrive in Ukraine in 2024, but their impact on the war may be limited by Russian air power
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said on Friday that Kiev needs more combat aircraft for its war effort, such as US A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft to support infantry and aircraft that can launch long-range cruise missiles.
French Mirage planes could strengthen Ukrainian aviation
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said that not only the American A-10, but also the French Dassault Mirage can be used in Ukraine.
“Therefore, along with the F-16, the MiG-29 will operate in the sky, and it is possible that the combat capabilities of the Su-24M bombers will be reinforced by the Mirage-2000D, as well as the Su-25 attack aircraft. the planes will be reinforced by the A-10 Thunderbolt II,” Oleschuk said in Telegram.
The Mirage 2000 is a fourth-generation French multipurpose single-engine fighter.
“Today, the priority is certainly the F-16, for which Ukrainian pilots are already being retrained. However, our experts are also studying other possibilities of increasing the combat potential of aviation in general,” Oleschuk said.
In September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that during a conversation with President Emmanuel Macron, he reached “a very important agreement regarding the training of our pilots in France.”
He did not specify what kind of training will be conducted.
France does not have F-16 fighter jets, which were recently promised to Ukraine by Denmark and the Netherlands. It does, however, have French-made Rafale warplanes and previous-generation Mirage 2000 jets.
Source: Hot News
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