{"id":78421,"date":"2023-03-07T18:03:42","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T18:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/07\/which-fighter-jet-is-best-for-ukraine-as-it-fights-off-russia\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:51:11","slug":"which-fighter-jet-is-best-for-ukraine-as-it-fights-off-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/03\/07\/which-fighter-jet-is-best-for-ukraine-as-it-fights-off-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"Which fighter jet is best for Ukraine as it fights off Russia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 When Russia invaded Ukraine<\/a> a year ago, the Kremlin had an air force that could draw on hundreds of MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets<\/a> in reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s fighter fleet was, by some estimations, far more meager, with 69 jets at most. Experts say that put it at about one-tenth the size of Russia\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine and its supporters say Western fighter jets<\/a> are now necessary to tip the balance in Ukraine\u2019s favor, while allowing for close air support and air interdiction missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUkraine never asked the American soldiers to fight on our land instead of us,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an in-person address to Congress in December. \u201cI assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a February letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the administration to provide F-16s or other fighters to Ukraine, and to quickly make a decision so the country has time to train its pilots<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn contrast to the current, ground-based air defense platforms currently used by Ukrainian forces, fighter aircraft\u2019s ability to quickly traverse a large battlespace with a significant weapons payload could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year,\u201d the lawmakers \u2014 Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine; Tony Gonzales, R-Texas; Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.; and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa. \u2014 wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last year, the military aid sent from the United States and allies has steadily grown in firepower; weapons include loitering munitions, artillery, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and more. Most recently, after weeks of hesitation, the United States in January approved the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, alongside Germany\u2019s decision to provide Leopard 2 battle tanks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Smoke billows from the flaming debris of a crashed Ukrainian fighter jet near the Donetsk area in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The aircraft was flying low low over rebel-held territory. (Dimitar Dilkoff\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some Western government leaders have kept the door cracked open when it comes to providing fighter jets, with U.K. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace telling journalists in February: \u201cDon\u2019t rule anything in, don\u2019t rule anything out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not everyone is convinced. Pentagon policy chief Colin Kahl recently told lawmakers weapons for dominating Ukrainian airspace, like Western warplanes, are worth less than air defense equipment aimed at denying the skies to Russia, like the Patriot system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F-16s or other fighters are \u201ca priority for the Ukrainians, but [are] not one of their top three priorities,\u201d Kahl told the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 28. \u201cTheir top priorities are air defense systems [and] keeping their interceptors and air defense network alive against Russian cruise missiles and the like, and Iranian drones, artillery and fires … and armor and mechanized systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kahl said providing even three dozen older F-16s would cost roughly $3 billion \u2014 and a bigger fleet could cost as much as $11 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the same hearing, ranking Democrat Rep. Adam Smith of Washington expressed skepticism about the feasibility and effect providing F-16s would have on the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if we basically said there\u2019s nothing more important than that one weapon system and spent all of our time and all of our resources on doing it, the best case scenario [is] we could maybe get some operational F-16s into Ukraine within a year, maybe eight months if we really pushed it,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd this is getting lucky. Because you don\u2019t just have to train the pilots; you have to train the mechanics, you have to have airfields that can accommodate the F-16 and you have to have the spare parts to make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Ukrainian Su-27 Flanker and MiG-29 Fulcrum escort two B-1B Lancers during a training mission for Bomber Task Force Europe on May 29, 2020, in the Black Sea region. (Courtesy of the Ukrainian Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018An existential fight\u2019<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s fighter pilots fly MiG-29 Fulcrum and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker jets. Flight International\u2019s 2022 almanac of air forces listed the Ukrainian service as having 43 MiG-29s and 26 Su-27s in its fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow for air power and technology at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute think tank, said Flight International\u2019s tally is \u201cquite optimistic.\u201d Ukraine\u2019s real situation is much more troubled, he said, though he declined to provide specific examples, citing security reasons. Bronk, who is also a professor at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy, has extensively researched Ukraine\u2019s military needs and traveled to the country last fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia, on the other hand, has roughly 370 MiG-29, -31 and -35 fighters as well as 350 Su-27, -30 and -35 fighters, according to Flight International\u2019s almanac. Fighters such as the MiG-35 and Su-35 in Russia\u2019s fleet are also more advanced than Ukraine\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\t