Will F-16 fighter jets tip the balance in Ukraine's favor in its war against Russia? DW News

In Ukraine, anticipation is growing over the imminent delivery of Western made F-16 fighter jets. They're expected to arrive in the coming weeks from Denmark and the Netherlands. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the fighter jets will be a game changer in Ukraine's military efforts to repel Russia's invasion. But speculation is rife over where the F-16s will be based. Many Ukrainians are concerned that having the jets in their neighborhood could lead to intensified Russian attacks.

Chapter Breakdown
0:00 DW's Myles Tweedie reports on anticipation over the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
2:54 Frank Ledwidge, military analyst, lays out the military capabilities of F-16 fighter jets

#ukrainerussiawar #f-16 #f16fighter

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[MrOptimusheath]

They have nothing to worry about, Russia doesn`t target military facilities.

[Wiersq]

1.5 years ago, could the HIMARS win the war?
1 year ago, could the Leopard 2 tank win the war?
Now, can the F16 win the war?

Isnt it boring and lazy to use different subjects but apply with the same topic?
People should ask, what weapons in DW experts' view can win the war? Or can DW predict what Zelensky will urgently ask in a year?

[stevinharper]

They will help but nothing is a silver bullet. I wish they would stop making these dumb reports

[sal-zq]

The real game changer would be something called peace and cooperation

[robh]

So funny! Same story as the Leopards are coming, Russia is running out of missiles, the Abrams are coming, the Ghost of Kiev, etc....

[jasonlawrence]

why would ukraine tell anybody where they are basing their most important tool? and why would you even ask them continuously? Let ukraine have its secrecy like russia has. Russia is a mystery to the west..we know very little of anything going on behind those lines.

[zen]

Disliked due to overuse of the term "Game Changer".

[sidhusingh]

Seriously??? Why are they forgetting that they are in war, not in a movie theater

[SoutheastAsianBoy-jz]

Remember when the f-117 was shot down by the old soviet S-125 in serbia in 1999. Now Russia has many more modern air defence systems than that, and again, f-16 worth millions of dollars will be able to do nothing much - surely not a game changer.

[fritzmeier]

2022: "Send horwitzers, that will be a game changer", 2023 :"Send MBTs, that will be a gane changer", 2024: "Send F-16, that will be a game changer"....

[pacivalmuller]

Just a reminder: USA lost over 2500 fixed-wing aircraft in Vietnam war. Here we expect how many aircraft?

[mohammedmannan]

Everything he received its a game changer but when he loses them from Russian bombing he crys for different weapons, next he'll be asking for submarines and b52 bombers.

[risinbison]

40 year old aircraft against modern weapons systems, sure, game changer.

[aleksandrpospelov]

Me-262 was a "game changer" too?

[Pierluigi_Di_Lorenzo]

0:08 Kiev says 'game changer'. They also called Javelin, Bayraktar, HIMARS, NLAW, Switchblade, ATACMS and Patriot for game changers, but the game has not changed. They need many, many of F-16s, pilots to fly them, crews for maintenance, good armament - which they do not have/get.

[GibrilBangura-ct]

This will be the first time in history for F-16s to encounter the Mordan Air Defense System. Ukraine is already confident in labelling them as a game changer. They previously lauded NATO artillery shells as a game changer but saw their accuracy drop from 90% to 5%, rendering them ineffective.

[VDJ]

Jesus… to listen to that military analyst is utterly depressing

[uikvnpi]

According to the Washington Post - there will be 20 planes and just 6 trained pilots !!! Change the war? rofl.

[Dutchfr-dd]

No the balance won't tip in Ukraine's favor. F16's are nice but they are not a gamechanger. Ukraine will have to use them the same as the older russian fighter jets they use now, or they get shot down too.

[dawg]

European media is hiding its head under the sand and shouts Ukraine is winning😂