- President Zelenskiy announces use of U.S.-made fighter planes
- Ukraine has long waited for the higher-capability jets
- Kyiv hopes they will change war, Russia vows to shoot them down
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s for operations within the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made fighter jets more than 29 months since Russia’s invasion.
But there is one nice improvement, at least: F-16s are able to use all missile modes for NATO munitions instead of the couple available through converted Soviet era fighters. Some important features like BVR and multi-target engagement likely don’t work, or are severely limited, with Ukraine’s MiGs.