Photo: Global Look Press
Western countries are increasingly talking about the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) will fail. One of the main reasons is the lack of combat aircraft in the arsenal of the Ukrainian army. However, the Western military-political bloc NATO is in no hurry to move the American-made F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv, despite calls from the republic's authorities. Now the West is actively looking for an alternative, writes RIA Novosti columnist David Narmania.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine will not be able to organize a successful offensive without aviation, as armored vehicles will leave the air defense zone and become an easy target for the Russian Air Force, the article notes. However, the fourth-generation Swedish fighters JAS 39 Gripen (“Griffin”) can cover Ukrainian tanks, the author of the publication shared his opinion.
Cheap and comfortable aircraft were created to protect the sky from Russian aviation. Strike operations behind enemy lines were not staged before Griffin. In addition, the fighter can land on short runways and even on roads, which is very convenient for the Ukrainian Air Force.
In Stockholm, they said that the country needs Griffins to ensure its own security. However, Sweden intends to join the North Atlantic Alliance and then it will have no choice.
“If Kiev needs some weapons, sooner or later they will provide them. So JAS 39 meeting Russian fighter jets in battle is quite a realistic scenario ,” the journalist concluded.