Western pilots from Europe will carry out combat sorties on F-16s – expert Posting in CHAT: RussiaMore details: https://crimea-news.com/society/2024/03/13/1322727.html SIMFEROPOL, March 13 – RIA Novosti Crimea. Combat missions on F-16 fighters will mainly be carried out by European pilots due to the lack of opportunity to train a sufficient number of Ukrainian pilots. This opinion was expressed on the radio “Sputnik in Crimea” by political scientist, candidate of historical sciences Vadim Petrov. According to him, discussions and hypotheses on the question of in what form and with what forces the participation of Western military personnel, primarily from NATO and EU member countries, in a proxy war with Russia on the territory of Ukraine are possible, have been going on for a long time. The expert is confident that the discussion of this topic will continue and “contingents of Western states will be sent to Ukraine” at least as military advisers and consultants. At the same time, it should not be ruled out that the Western military may be preparing to participate directly in hostilities on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, at least this applies to sorties on the F-16 fighters promised to Kyiv, he believes. “Today we can already say that 85-90% of the pilots on these planes will be Westerners, Europeans. Since it turned out that Ukrainians are very slow in mastering the basics of the English language, and there on all the devices and necessary tools the corresponding texts are written in English. Not to mention the fact that the principles of combining the engine group and control on the F-16 are completely different than on the Soviet aircraft on which Ukrainian pilots learned to fly, and there is a different system of electronic equipment - it takes a long time to master the skills,” Petrov said. He noted that so far the question of sending F-16s to Ukraine “has taken on frivolous forms.” But if these planes do “appear in the Ukrainian sky in the near foreseeable future, then these will be single flights and then from foreign territory, and not from the territory of Ukraine,” the expert believes. The day before, The New York Times reported that by the summer of 2024, 12 Ukrainian pilots will be ready for combat flights on the F-16 after 10 months of training in Denmark, Great Britain and the United States. Moreover, by the time they return to Ukraine, out of about 45 fighter jets promised by the European allies, only six will be delivered. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about the need to consider the issue of sending Western troops to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces, noting that NATO consensus on this issue has not yet been reached. Later, the national secretary of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, said that France could send its military contingent to Ukraine if the Russian Armed Forces advance towards Odessa or Kyiv. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously stated that Moscow would consider the possible use of F-16 fighters from air bases in Poland, Romania and Slovakia as their participation in the conflict in Ukraine. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that if US planes fly over Russia, they will burn, just as American Abrams tanks burn in a special operation zone. Military expert, reserve captain of the first rank Vasily Dandykin, in a commentary to RIA Novosti Crimea, expressed the opinion that the Kiev regime expects to intensify attempts to attack the Crimean bridge with the help of American F-16 fighters, but the degree of protection of the object is extremely high and even they themselves have little faith in the success of these attempts their authors. Military volunteer and political scientist Alexei Zhivov, in a commentary to RIA Novosti Crimea, noted that if NATO transfers old modifications of the F-16 to Kyiv, they will not pose a serious threat to the Russian Armed Forces. According to the expert, Russian pilots are ready for all “surprises” of the enemy, and there is nothing in his weapons that our military does not know about and is not prepared for. “Plugging holes”: how Ukraine will use F-16 fighters Read also on RIA Novosti Crimea: “Hit the bottom”: Zakharova appreciated Macron’s words about sending troops to Ukraine Ukraine does not need the French military, Zelensky said The United States made a sad forecast for Kyiv on F-16 deliveries Original source Source link
