The US will assist Ukraine in receiving cutting-edge fighter jets by permitting Western allies to supply F-16s built in the US and by instructing Ukrainian pilots on how to fly the aircraft.
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It would undoubtedly give Kyiv a military advantage, but the devil is in the details.
The most important concerns are how many, how quickly, and with what kind of armaments will the jets be equipped.
Nobody questions the F-16's capabilities because it has more than proven itself in wars all around the world.
They will be an improvement over Ukraine's Mig-29s and Su-27s from the Soviet era, which carry out comparable operations.
Since the F-16 radar has a wider field of view, enemy aircraft can be attacked at greater distances.
They frequently include missiles that can reach their target without the aircraft maintaining a radar lock, a capacity that Russia currently possesses but Ukraine does not.
F-16s are more effective at locating and taking down enemy ground-based radars than Ukraine's current fighter jets at doing so. They can also launch precision bombs that are guided by lasers, GPS, and sophisticated targeting systems.
However, it is not yet known which of these capabilities Ukraine would receive if the delivery of the planes proceeds.
Ukraine will also have difficulties with training and delivery. The onboard computer systems, like the avionics, work substantially differently from Soviet aircraft.
In complicated combat situations where they run the risk of being overloaded by quickly evolving events, known as task saturation, pilots must make several right-mode selections out of instinct.
Imagine yourself as a driver transferring from a Renault to a Mercedes and needing to know where the headlight switches, wiper controls, and fog lights are located right away. Everything would be much more confusing. Time and practice are necessary.
On custom simulators, Ukrainian pilots will receive training. However, it is also extremely possible that they were practicing on commercial software, which offers a pretty accurate simulation of the workflow necessary to run an F-16.
Numerals are also crucial. Sending six jets, each of which could be vulnerable to Russia's powerful Su-35s, is of little use.
Combat jets work best in packages where they are grouped together for certain tasks and are all used to complete a single mission.
For instance, you would want a "four-ship" composed of four planes to carry the missiles or the bombs to demolish that structure if the mission is to neutralize an enemy radar post.
Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) strikes are used in this situation. However, you do not want that crucial flight to be attacked on its own.
In order to defend the SEAD strike from enemy aircraft, four more aircraft may be flying ahead in a "SEAD escort" role and equipped with air-to-air weapons.
The point is that all of this calls for numerous airplanes, and they require backup from other resources.
This would include having observation aircraft to alert of the presence of enemy fighters, ground staff to ensure the maintenance of the jets, and, of course, the required infrastructure for safe takeoff and landing.
Thus, a difficult process will begin with the US decision to grant the go-ahead for other countries to furnish F-16s, and much work will be needed to get to delivery.
