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?
“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
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.
