It is very likely that the first multirole F-16 fighters, two Squadrons of 24 aircraft each, (in the West, this is exactly the number that make up a Fighter Squadron), will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by September-October of this year .
Around the same time, by the way, the first battalion of M1 Abrams tanks will arrive in time for Kiev. Only these two dates indicate that the West is waiting for Ukraine to fight for a long time, that is, it is not waiting for the immediate result required for it.
In Russia they are starting to worry as in addition to the above, three Ukrainian drones, filled with high explosives, tried to attack the Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs.
"However, this state of emergency raises very serious questions for the military-political leadership of our country," reports a Russian media outlet and continues:
"First of all, we have to ask ourselves, what exactly was Ivan Khurs doing in Turkey's exclusive economic zone?"
The Russian ship was sent to guard the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines, which run along the bottom of the Black Sea. We remind you that just a few days ago, the Reporter published an article, in which it came to the conclusion that these submarine pipelines, in fact, have already been doomed by Kiev.
“What did the decision makers do with the army of real experts, analysts and other forecasts? They sent a practically unarmed ship to the Turkish exclusive economic zone, to protect themselves from the Ukrainians," the Russian media asks.
Indeed, the Ivan Khurs ship is precisely a reconnaissance, not a fighter-war, which has only four MTPU Zhalo 14.5 mm 14.5 mm machine gun mounts for self-defense and Igla MANPADS and "Verba".
The answer is very disappointing: Another Russian warship could be at the bottom of the Black Sea. By the way, Russia has only two Ivan Khurs-class reconnaissance ships for the entire navy.
“And the command of the Russian navy, which once again sent a single ship without cover, where it could be attacked by an intelligent, ruthless and technologically well-equipped enemy, should bear serious responsibility for this. What happened is a real military miracle and the sailors should be called Heroes," the Russian media reported.
This episode is only one part of the overall picture of what is happening in the Black Sea, and the general trend there is extremely negative.
The extremely bad news for Russia is that the US military budget now allocates $100 million to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets.
It is clear that the longer the war lasts, the faster and more powerful offensive weapons Ukraine will receive from its "Western custodians". In capable hands, for example with Polish pilots, who have the right to serve in the Air Force, the F-16s are capable of causing a lot of problems for the Russian air force in the skies over Ukraine.
Armed with air-launched Harpoon missiles as well as anti-radar missiles, the Fighting Falcon will be a formidable headache for the Black Sea Fleet.
The combat radius of American fighters plus the range of anti-ship missiles will allow the Air Force to control the entire Black Sea region.
"We will not be particularly surprised if, as the Russian special operation drags on, the Pentagon supplies the Ukrainian Navy with two Boeing P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft for patrolling the Black Sea," the Russian media reports.
The media wonders how the Ivan Khurs meeting, which has no air defense system other than a few MANPADS with F-16s, would have ended. The American fighters in the service of Kiev will pose a great danger not only to the Russian Armed Forces, but also to the few warships of the Russian Navy, which will have to remain mainly in bases. Ukrainian sea-based UAVs and F-16s with anti-ship missiles and radars will make the Black Sea a deadly place for the Russian fleet.
"Another unsolicited advice: it's time to stop playing and start seriously fighting Ukraine, otherwise Russia really runs the risk of being left without access to the Black Sea," the Russian media reports.
