F-16 and Mirage aircraft are actively operating in Ukrainian airspace. Ukraine continues to work on building up its aviation capabilities. This was stated by the commander of the Air Force Aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Oleksandr Diakiv, as reported by UNN correspondent.
I believe that our pilots played a very important role, who, not fearing the enemy, who outnumbered them in the air, bravely engaged in battle. Our partners saw this. They understood that we know how to fight, we have endurance, we are trained, and we have people who can master any type of equipment. Thanks to this great work of all structures, from the President to the Air Force, we began to receive F-16 and Mirage aircraft, this is no longer a secret. And they are now actively operating in our air.
He emphasized that the struggle continues and Ukraine continues to work on building up its aviation capabilities.
"By the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, an aviation vertical was created in the state, which included the Air Force, the aviation command was created, it included the General Staff, where a deputy chief of the General Staff for aviation appeared, an aviation representative appeared in the Ministry of Defense in order to link these links and continue the integration of aircraft and ground manufacturers and continue work on their acquisition, training of flight personnel, engineering and technical training, use of these weapons and competent operation," Diakiv said.
Recall
Today, Ukraine has a unique aviation configuration, simultaneously operating both modern Western equipment – F-16, Mirage, etc., and Soviet-made aircraft, including Mi-8 helicopters, which Ukrainian enterprises are modernizing for combat missions.
According to Colonel Pavlo Bardakov, commander of the Army Aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukraine is currently not even considering abandoning Soviet equipment, but its use requires maintaining it in combat readiness, proper technical maintenance, and modernization.
At the same time, the aviation industry warns about the depletion of technical resources and the lack of state support. The Aerospace Association of Ukraine sees the most effective way to solve this situation as including aviation enterprises in the Defence City special regime.
Currently, the residency criteria for Defence City are too strict and cannot be met even by such flagships of the aviation industry as "Antonov" or "Motor Sich". At the same time, people's deputies have already submitted a number of amendments and proposals for the second reading of the draft laws on the creation of Defence City, aimed at taking into account the position of the aviation sector and ensuring the possibility of continuing to support Ukraine's defense capability.