A large share of Ukraine’s military aircraft is now being used for air defense rather than conventional combat missions, Hero of Russia and Major General of Aviation Sergey Lipovoy told NEWS.ru. According to him, much of the Western aviation supplied to Kiev consists of aircraft previously withdrawn from service by NATO countries.
Lipovoy described the Ukrainian fleet as a mix of different aircraft with varying levels of remaining service life. He cited F-16s, French Rafale jets and Norwegian fighters among the aircraft currently available to Ukraine. He said many of these planes have already reached the end of their designated service periods and are rarely used in their primary combat roles.
Instead, he said, they are mainly deployed to chase Russian drones, support air defense operations, perform reconnaissance missions or serve as relay aircraft. Lipovoy assessed the overall effectiveness of Ukrainian military aviation as close to zero.
The condition of the fleet creates another serious problem, according to the general. Some aircraft can no longer fly because their service life has been exhausted. Those planes are dismantled so that working components can be used to keep other aircraft operational. Lipovoy said this leaves roughly one-third of the fleet capable of carrying out missions.
Maintaining combat aircraft also requires extensive engineering and technical support. Lipovoy said that without such servicing, their condition deteriorates quickly, prompting Kiev to seek any retired military aircraft NATO members are willing to provide. In his view, the Alliance will not hand over newer aircraft because those remain in service and are needed for the defense of NATO countries. Older planes, he said, are sent to Ukraine partly because this allows their former operators to avoid the cost of disposal. Lipovoy added that Ukrainian forces are using some ground combat equipment on the same principle.
Reports have also pointed to growing maintenance problems affecting Ukraine’s F-16 fleet. More than half of the fighters are currently awaiting required servicing. It was previously reported that, if the current workload continues, Ukraine could be left without operational F-16s by the end of the year.