Ukrainian pilot thanks USA for crucial F‑16 fighter support
One of the Ukrainian pilots, usually piloting an F-16 fighter jet, posted an unusual video on social media. In it, he expressed gratitude to the USA for its military assistance to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian pilot expressed gratitude on his Instagram profile, emphasizing that the support received is a crucial opportunity to defend democracy. Along with sharing the video, he thanked supporters and highlighted the collective effort toward victory.
The Ukrainian pilot addressed the USA directly from the F-16 cockpit
The content shared by the Ukrainian pilot came in response to the recent decision by Donald Trump, which resulted in Ukraine being cut off from further supplies of American equipment. The pilot shared photos from the F-16 cockpit and a short video flying over Ukraine, demonstrating how American fighter jets are helping to protect the country attacked by Russia.
It is important to emphasize that the F-16 fighters are delivered to Ukraine by the so-called aviation coalition, which includes European countries. However, as with other overseas-produced equipment, the United States had to approve these deliveries.
The Netherlands and Denmark have already delivered 12 of the 19 promised F-16 fighters to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Belgium has faced difficulties in transferring F-16s to the front. They declared their readiness to provide Ukraine with 30 F-16s in February, but they announced that this would happen by the end of the year at the earliest.
Western combat aircraft in Ukraine
The F-16 is currently one of two NATO combat aircraft available to Ukraine. At the beginning of this year, Kyiv also received a few Mirage 2000-5F fighters.
Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighters can reach speeds of about 1,370 mph and operate at altitudes up to about 49,200 ft. The versions delivered to Ukraine are modified F-16A/B MLU (Mid-Life Update) variants. They are equipped with enhanced radars and adapted to work with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, which range approximately 62 miles.
F-16s offer significantly greater capabilities than the Soviet-era aircraft Ukraine relied on before the war and still largely does. However, the war has revealed some imperfections. As Ukrainian experts have repeatedly pointed out, a major drawback of these aircraft is the absence of a Link-16 communication system. According to The Wall Street Journal, this was a contributing factor to the incident in which a Ukrainian F-16 was shot down by Patriot missiles.
