Ukraine F-16 'Bottlenecks' Spell Bad News for Kyiv: Report

Ukraine is facing "bottlenecks" that may limit its ability to fully utilize F-16 fighter jets supplied by its Western allies, according to the Institute for the Study of War's latest update.

Foreign aid has been crucial to Kyiv's defense efforts amid the Russia-Ukraine war, which began more than two years ago when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "special military operation" against his Eastern European neighbor. Ukraine's allies are set to provide the country with F-16 fighter jets, but a new report suggests they are struggling to train enough pilots to fly them.

Ukraine is set to receive more than 60 F-16s from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, according to a report from Politico. But Ukrainian authorities have asked its allies for more pilot training.

The ISW laid out why this may pose a challenge in a report on Friday.

"Limitations on Western capabilities to train partner pilots on F-16 fighter jets are reportedly creating bottlenecks that will affect Ukraine's ability to effectively field F-16s in the future," the report reads.

In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his military would need anywhere between 120 and 130 advanced fighter aircraft to "achieve air parity with Russia," according to the ISW.

However, according to the ISW, Ukraine may not have a full squadron—which would consist of 20 aircraft and 40 pilots—until the end of 2025.

Kyiv has received permission from some countries to use F-16s for strikes within Russia's borders, but Ukraine's ability to operate the jets near the border is contingent on the "ability to destroy air defense assets in Russia."

"Ukraine will not be able to use all the Western-provided aircraft as effectively as possible until the necessary number of Ukrainian pilots complete training," the ISW wrote.

The report by the prominet think tank also noted that Ukraine may be able to "set conditions to have Ukrainian aviation operate in the air domain to support Ukrainian ground operations" if its military can "sufficiently destroy Russian air defense assets within Russia using Western long-range strike capabilities, obtain a sufficient cadre of pilots capable of flying F-16s, and receive a timely delivery and a sufficient number of F-16 airframes."

Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry for comment via email.

The update comes after Russia in May launched a new offensive in northeast Ukraine, near the country's second-largest city of Kharkiv. Prior to this, aid from the United States had stalled because of political disputes about whether Washington should continue funding Ukraine, leaving the conflict stagnant for months.

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