According to reports in the Ukrainian media, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu offered to buy F-16 warplanes and deliver them to Ukraine.
“I think it’s very reasonable,” Reinsalu said.
After that, the head of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted that at the moment the Estonian Air Force does not have such aircraft.
For 2023, the Estonian Air Force is armed with two borrowed L-39 Albatros combat trainers, two An-28 transport aircraft and two R-44 Raven II multipurpose helicopters.
At the same time, the Estonian military budget for 2023 should exceed 1 billion euros. The average cost of modern modifications of the F-16 fighter is several million dollars.
Former Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk listed Problems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which, in his opinion, only F-16 fighters can solve.
Oleshchuk stressed that the Russian Federation controls the Black Sea and that the F-16s have anti-ship missiles that, according to the head of the Ukrainian Air Force, “can easily drive the entire enemy fleet into ports or the seabed. ” He also recalled the lack of Soviet spare parts and ammunition.