The F-16 fighter jets received by Ukraine from the US and European countries are no match for Russia's Su-35 on the battlefield. This is the reason why Ukraine is not using F-16s directly in the fight. It is using these planes for air defence. After a heated debate with Donald Trump, the US has suspended the radar system of F-16 planes.

Ukraine has received 20 F-16 fighter jets so far

Colonel Yuri Ihnat, head of the communications department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, believes that the aircraft Ukraine has cannot be involved in air combat. Without integrated air defense, F-16 aircraft cannot stand against Russia. Ukraine has so far received 20 F-16 aircraft from Denmark, Netherlands and America. One of these aircraft has crashed.

The fighter planes are quite old

According to media reports, the F-16 aircraft received by Ukraine are very old. These are from the 1980s and 1990s. Some fighter aircraft have been upgraded. But these are early C/D models or F-16A/B. These fighter aircraft are equipped with old radar systems like APG-66 and APG-68. In the war zone, these F-16 aircraft are capable of carrying only old versions of missiles like AIM-9 Sidewinders and AIM-120 AMRAAMs.