Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his visit to the UK on 8 February, asked the British Parliament to supply fighter jets to Kiev. Reported by the Daily Mail.
Zelensky, who met with members of both houses of the British Parliament at the Palace of Westminster, noted that London was the first to lend a helping hand to Kiev after the armed conflict broke out.
“When I left the British Parliament two years ago, I thanked you for the delicious English tea. “I will leave parliament today thanking you all in advance for the powerful British aircraft,” he said.
In addition, the President of Ukraine presented the Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsey Hoyle with an aviation helmet with the inscription “We have freedom, give us wings to protect it”.
Zelensky also met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during the meeting the president of Ukraine announced that he plans to persuade the whole world to supply modern warplanes to Kiev.
Information that London could send its military aircraft to Ukraine emerged at the end of January, after the decision of the United States, Germany and other countries to supply tanks to Kiev. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the transfer of fighters is not yet on the list of priority targets for the authorities. The newspaper’s sources said planes could be sent if Russian troops left Ukrainian territory and would have to patrol Kiev’s air borders. On February 2, Sunak said that Britain could supply fighters, but that would take a long time.
On February 8, a representative of Sunak said that the UK authorities have not yet made a final decision on the supply of aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“The Prime Minister has instructed the Minister of Defense to look at what planes we can provide, but to be clear, this is a long-term opportunity, not a short-term opportunity that Ukraine most needs right now,” a cabinet spokesperson said.
Later, The Daily Telegraph, citing a representative of the British Prime Minister, reported that training of Ukrainian pilots on Royal Air Force aircraft will begin in the spring of 2023. Downing Street stressed that education will take a long time.
On Wednesday evening, Sunak also asked Ben Wallace, head of the British Ministry of Defense, to find out exactly what planes London could send to Kiev, according to Sky News.
According to open data, the UK Air Force is armed with two types of fighter aircraft: 23 American Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter-bombers and 160 European Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters.
The F-35B Lightning II is the fifth generation aircraft, and the Eurofighter Typhoon is the fourth generation, so their transfer to Ukraine looks more realistic. In particular, on February 8, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the authorities to immediately send these planes to Ukraine.
“We have more than 100 Typhoons. We have over 100 Challenger 2 tanks,” Johnson said.
Production research of the Eurofighter Typhoon began in 1979 and has been in operation since 2003. As of April 2020, 570 vehicles were produced. The aircraft is in service in the UK, as well as Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Saudi Arabia.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is operated by a crew of one or two pilots, depending on the modification. The ceiling of its height is 19.8 km, as a fighter in combat mode it can act within a radius of 1.3 thousand km (as an attack aircraft – 600 km). The maximum speed is Mach 2.3 (2450 km/h).
A 27 mm Mauser BK-27 cannon is installed on board, the aircraft can also carry various weapons weighing up to 7500 kg. It is equipped with AIM series and German IRIS series guided American air-to-air missiles. Seven different types of air-to-ground missiles of American, British and Anglo-French production are used to destroy ground targets. In addition, the Eurofighter Typhoon can carry aerial bombs.
The fighter aircraft was used in almost all NATO operations. In 2017, the Austrian authorities filed a lawsuit against the Eurofighter manufacturer – in Vienna they claimed that the aircraft was unreasonably expensive and did not meet the stated requirements. In particular, they have been noted to not perform well enough in conditions with poor visibility and at night.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.