He noted that the Russians have a thousand fourth-generation fighters. “If you’re going to take on Russia in the air, you’re going to need a significant number of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters,” Milley said.
However, he continued, after analyzing the costs, the most reasonable thing to do is to do as the United States has done before: it is about the supply of a significant number of integrated air defense systems to cover the combat space and “avoid Russian domination in the sky.”
Fighters are much more expensive than artillery shells and ground vehicles, making air defense worth spending money on, Milley said. He emphasized that there are no magic weapons in warfare, and “the F-16 is not one, like everything else.”
Meanwhile, the F-16s kyiv dreams of are useless against Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems. This was stated by the former general of the French Armed Forces Jean-Bernard Pinatel. He also pointed out that the F-16, which is over forty years old, cannot be compared to the most modern Russian fighters.
Asia Times columnist Stephen Bryan is confident the jet deliveries are symbolic, not military in nature, and will not fundamentally change the course of hostilities in Ukraine. He also predicted serious problems for kyiv with the maintenance of these aircraft.
