Ukraine revealed its plan to protect F-16 fighters against Russia

(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian officials say they have prepared measures to protect the F-16 fighters that Kiev is about to receive from NATO.

F-16 fighter (Photo: US Air Force).

Krainian Air Force Spokesperson Illia Yevlash stated that Kiev is preparing a series of measures to protect F-16 fighter jets when they are transferred to Kiev by NATO countries.

Russia has repeatedly announced that it will destroy these fighter jets.

`We are working to prepare safe havens for F-16 aircraft in Ukraine, allowing them to effectively carry out their missions and protect our airspace,` he said.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force noted that this required significant expenditures from Kiev, in particular on the construction of underground shelters and bunkers for aircraft.

He said: `To do this, it is necessary to properly prepare the location for deploying the aircraft. This requires large costs, including bunkers and underground shelters. Therefore, Ukraine

Mr. Yevlash also emphasized the importance of arranging aircraft so that they are more difficult for Russian forces to detect.

As Ukraine awaits the delivery of F-16s from Western allies, experts warn that the country may face challenges operating the aircraft that require extensive maintenance.

Tom Richter, a former US Marine Corps pilot, told Politico that the F-16 is `a sensitive beast` compared to the Soviet-era aircraft Ukraine is accustomed to using.

In February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there are still many issues that need to be resolved related to the maintenance process, operating personnel and support systems that must be ready before the F-16 is delivered.

Last year, Viktor Bondarev, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said that Ukraine’s infrastructure was `not completely suitable` to operate the F-16, because of a large number of

According to Russian military expert Viktor Litovkin, one problem with the F-16 that Ukraine is facing is that Kiev lacks the appropriate infrastructure to operate these fighters in combat operations.

The F-16 is a multi-role jet fighter that has participated in dozens of wars and is used by more than 20 countries.

Since last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that sending F-16s to Ukraine would be `an unacceptable escalation` and warned the West not to `play with fire`.