Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli occupation forces issue a new bombing threat against civilian buildings in the Southern Lebanese towns of Borj Qalaouiye and Chehabiyeh.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Extending the snapback mechanism deadline will test how independent Europeans truly are from the US.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Activating the snapback mechanism will nullify the Cairo Agreement, shut the door on cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran, and bar inspections.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: The diplomatic window remains open, but signs of activating the snapback sanctions mechanism on Iran are increasing.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Although the Cairo Agreement meets an important part of European demands, they have begun speaking of new conditions in recent communications.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: European countries show no independence in their stance toward Iran during the talks.
Israeli occupation forces issued bombing threats to bomb civilian buildings in Southern Lebanon.
Israeli media: Person behind shooting operation at Allenby Crossing is a Jordanian Army soldier.
Israeli media citing Emergency Services: Both wounded in Allenby shooting operation now dead.
Israeli media: One soldier wounded at Allenby crossing now confirmed killed.

Kiev F-16 hopes stifled by language barriers, runways, parts shortages

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Bloomberg
  • 13 Jul 2024 00:17
  • 3 Shares
4 Min Read

Planners are concerned that Ukraine does not have enough runways, and those it does have are susceptible to Russian strikes.

Listen
  • x
  • Kiev's F16 hopes stifled by language barriers and parts shortages
    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, center, look at F-16 fighter jets in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in August 2023. (AP)

As Ukraine is preparing to receive the F-16 fighter jets it has desperately been awaiting to counter Russia's battlefield gains, the drive to send the jets at this week's NATO summit in Washington is being hampered by delays, doubts about spare parts, and a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign trainers.

Bloomberg cited familiar sources divulging that planners are also concerned that the nation does not have enough runways, and those it does have are susceptible to Russian strikes.

According to one source, Ukraine may be able to operate a squadron of F-16s, ranging from 15 to 24 planes, well short of the 300 fighters that its leaders have requested. Another source told Bloomberg that Ukraine expects six F-16s this summer and up to 20 by the end of 2024.

The problems have been so severe that some have questioned the appropriateness of deploying the planes to Ukraine, and whether doing so now constitutes an expensive show of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the months after pilots began training, including 12 in the United States, the battlefield has altered, with both sides relying on low-cost drones and Russia strengthening its air defenses.

One senior NATO official identified three major challenges on the planners' minds.

First, the planes must be changed according to their mission, such as reconnaissance or warfare.

Second, Ukraine lacks the necessary lengthy, high-quality runways and shelters to shield the F-16s against Russian attacks.

Third, the logistics of sustaining the planes are complicated, ranging from the need for replacement parts to maintenance requirements and locating engineers. Another NATO source stated that Ukraine is attempting to do in a few months what typically takes three to four years.

Related News

NATO budget surge threatens climate goals with huge carbon footprint

Belarus hosts US officials at joint Zapad drills with Russia

Airfields 'nice, juicy targets'

Jim Townsend, a senior scholar at the Center for a New American Security, divulged that people "shouldn't expect miracles" from the jets, adding that the airfields will be "nice, juicy targets" for Russia since it has already been hitting some of them.

A spokesman for Lockheed Martin Corp., the manufacturer of the F-16, stated that it supports the US response to the war without elaborating on how servicing or components for the planes will be handled.

At the NATO Public Forum on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets from Europe to Ukraine is now underway.

Zelensky urged NATO leaders to lift all limits on allowing Kiev to strike inside Russia with Western weapons.

"If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations," Zelensky pleaded.

Simona Soare, senior lecturer at Lancaster University, told Bloomberg that the Russian offensive has convinced some allies that they must listen to Ukraine's demands.

Breedlove also emphasized the training required to break years of habit for Ukrainian pilots, who are used to Soviet-era MiGs with significantly simpler technology. A Ukrainian official acquainted with the issue downplayed the language barrier problem while admitting that there had been delays in training, staff, and maintenance, as well as the inability to provide shelter from Russian attacks.

Serge Stroobants, founder of Brussels-based BANTS Consulting, stated that it is "more a burden than a blessing, with minimal impact before many, many months and great chances of losing many planes and pilots," adding that the jet is not just a plane but rather "a team of nearly 200 people who all play a role in getting the plane off the ground.”

In August last year, Politico reported that Western efforts to train Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced F-16 jets are being hampered by the service members’ poor English language skills.

According to sources, of Ukraine's 32 pilots, only eight had enough English proficiency to partake in a future training program. 

  • Nato
  • Kiev
  • Nato Alliance
  • Ukraine
  • F16
  • F-16 fighter jets
  • Russia
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Most Read

Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS