Ukraine has recently reported a number of Russian aircraft shot down or rendered unusable. With this, Ukraine may be creating conditions for the deployment of new aircraft soon to be received from the West, said Air Force Chief of Staff Col. Janek Lehiste.
Lehiste told ERR’s “Ukraina stuudio” that the situation at the front has intensified, and the initiative is rather with the Russian forces. According to him, Russia has slightly changed its tactics, using air support for advancement.
“They have discovered that with air support, using aircraft, it’s possible to multiply this effect because attack planes, dropping or launching half-ton bombs, can cause significant damage to defense lines,” explained the colonel.
In recent weeks, however, Ukraine has reported being able to take out Russian A-50 command and control aircraft. Lehiste acknowledged that it is possible to conduct a combat mission without this aircraft, but it lacks flexibility. “So, if the plane has been given a mission to attack a specific target, rapid redirection is not possible, because there is no complete overview of what is happening around.”
According to Lehiste, this is why Russia is taking more risks by flying closer to the contact line. “Obviously, they are flying into air defense bubbles, and the result is visible, as Ukrainians have been able to shoot down about 13 aircraft during February,” he noted.
Lehiste estimates that Ukraine uses both long-range and medium-range air defense systems to shoot down Russian aircraft, especially the Patriot systems, which have a range of 150 kilometers.
With the downing of Russian aircraft, Ukraine may be preparing for the deployment of its new planes, Lehiste said. Allegedly, Ukraine could receive F-16 fighters from the West by the upcoming spring or summer.
“Definitely, it may be seen from the perspective that they are creating conditions for the deployment of their new aircraft. And maybe they are also creating conditions so that at a certain point in time and in a certain geographical area, it is possible to achieve air superiority, to support some ground operations or do something else,” Lehiste said.
For the deployment of F-16 fighter jets, Ukraine does not have to make significant changes to its infrastructure, according to Lehiste.
“Probably nothing very big or significant has to be done, no need to rebuild, likely no need to construct a new runway. Certainly, there are some requirements and tolerances regarding the condition of the runway. F-16s are more demanding in terms of unevenness and foreign objects, but otherwise, there shouldn’t be a big difference. They can be deployed using the existing infrastructure,” he explained.
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