Ignat told why Ukraine needs F-16s

F-16 fighter jets will perform several tasks when they come under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was stated by the speaker of the Air Force command, Yuriy Ignat, in an interview with Channel 24.

In particular, American aircraft will protect the sky from drone and missile attacks, to protect critical infrastructure and nuclear power facilities.

As the speaker noted, F-16s will be dispersed to all airfields of Ukraine.

In case of an air attack, they will take off and destroy the threat, Ignat pointed out.

He also emphasised that the aircraft will be used during attacks on the enemy. According to him, HARM missiles, which are now on MiG aircraft, will be three times or even four times more effective if they are put on American fighters.

Right now, the MiG just drops that HARM and it flies to a given area - that's the limited function of those missiles. At the same time, if they will be launched from F-16s, they can be controlled, which will increase the accuracy of strikes, - said the speaker of the Air Force.

In addition, the aircraft will be able to protect the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, in particular the port infrastructure, which will contribute to the grain agreement, as well as destroy surface targets.

The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needed about 160 F-16 fighter jets to prevent Russia from dominating the air and to defend the country.