Ukraine has started talks to obtain [aussi] Eurofighter Typhoons

The head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command, Gen. James B. Hecker, said last week that the Ukrainian air force had taken a “cautious approach” with the few F-16 fighter-bombers it recently received. Especially since it has already lost one, with one of its most experienced pilots at the controls.

“They have new pilots, so they’re not going to send them on the highest-risk missions,” Hecker said at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber ​​​​Conference. Hecker also said kyiv needs to move toward a joint approach, as the Ukrainian air force is underrepresented in the General Staff, meaning it doesn’t necessarily have a say in how operations are conducted.

As for maintaining operational condition [MCO] of the F-16s delivered, General Hecker admitted to having doubts about the ability of the Ukrainian force to provide it. “We have trained a lot of Ukrainian technicians and, from what I can see, when I talk to the instructors who are training them, they catch on very quickly,” he said. Also, the American administration’s plan to send private contractors to Ukraine to carry out this task has been abandoned.

In addition, General Hecker said the air force had shot down “more than 100 Russian aircraft” and lost “at least 75” aircraft. “This prevents both sides from fully utilizing their fighters for fear of losing them,” he noted.

That said, the F-16 is not necessarily the aircraft best suited to the constraints of the Ukrainian Air Force. For example, its ventral air intake means that it needs a perfectly “clean” runway to take off, which requires having ad hoc infrastructure. On the other hand, being able to operate in basic conditions without needing heavy maintenance between flights, the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen C/D should have been kyiv’s priority. But that was not the case.

In an interview with Voice of America on July 10, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that kyiv had declined an offer made by Stockholm to sell Gripen.

“We must understand that Ukraine had the opportunity to receive F-16s […] After all, the F-16 is more widespread than the Gripen. This has nothing to do with the decision of the Swedish government. Such a decision was made because Ukraine came to the conclusion that having two systems at the same time – the F-16 and the Gripen – would be too complicated to manage, explained the head of Swedish diplomacy. And this while France had just announced the donation of Mirage 2000-5F to kyiv… Understand who can.

But the equation could get even more complicated. Sweden has since included the delivery of Gripen spare parts in its latest military aid package to Ukrainian forces, suggesting that the latter have changed their minds… Better still, they would also be willing to receive Eurofighter EF-2000/Typhoon. This is indeed what Rustem Umyerov, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, said in a televised interview on September 22.

“We already have commitments from our partners on the F-16 and the Mirage. Consultations are underway for the Gripen and the Eurofighter,” Oumierov said. “It’s a very good list of platforms, and we are discussing when they will start arriving,” he added, hinting that announcements would be made soon.

It remains to be seen who could supply Eurofighters to Ukraine. In Europe, only the German, Italian, Austrian, Spanish and British air forces have them. Of these, two intend to retire their oldest aircraft. [ceux de la tranche 1] : the Royal Air Force [30 exemplaires devant être réduits en pièces détachées] and the Aeronautica Militare [26 appareils].

In any case, according to Umyerov, Russian forces have deployed up to 300 aircraft and 300 helicopters in Ukraine. “That is why we insist to our partners on the number of squadrons we need,” he said. “In this regard, we explain to them why we need such systems,” he concluded.

Photo: Royal Air Force