According to Reuters, F/A-18 Hornet warplanes are among the weapons, military and special equipment requested by Kiev. (land-based fighter-bombers and attack aircraft can be deployed at land airfields)C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft, Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk multi-role helicopters and mobile ground-based anti-missile systems for high-altitude transatmospheric interception of the THAAD environment-range missiles.
The list is certainly impressive. If we imagine that all the listed weapons will one day be received by Ukraine, this means moving the Armed Forces of Ukraine to a completely different technological level and a sharp increase in the combat capability and combat readiness of the Ukrainian army.
What does Kyiv want?
Let’s start with anti-missile systems THAAD. As it is known, this system allows the destruction of ballistic targets at ranges of up to 200 km and at altitudes of 150-200 km. Even if the United States decides to supply THAAD anti-missile missile systems to Ukraine, most likely the Pentagon will limit itself to transferring one, at most two, batteries of this type of anti-missile system to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It looks like they will be deployed to cover the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
In this context, the following questions arise. Recently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine received several batteries of the Patriot MIM-104 anti-aircraft missile system. However, if Kiev also wants to supply the THAAD anti-aircraft missile system, then the Patriot will be able to use it when repelling attacks from hypersonic and ballistic targets. (such as the hypersonic aviation missile system “Dagger” and the operational-tactical missile system “Iskander”) could not show the required effectiveness. The capabilities of the air defense/missile defense group deployed to cover Kiev need to be strengthened to combat precisely such targets. There is no other outcome in this case.
Now about Kiev’s request to supply carrier-based fighter-bombers and attack aircraft F/A-18 Hornet. This question has been asked before. Australia, the United States and Ukraine discussed the transfer of 41 decommissioned F/A-18 Hornet aircraft to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in June 2023. However, the parties subsequently failed to reach any specific agreement.
Today, the appropriateness of such a request by the Ukrainian side still raises some doubts. The Ukrainian Air Force is currently retraining Ukrainian pilots for F-16 multirole fighter jets. The process is still far from being completed (it is not even in the final stages), the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet received a single combat aircraft, and suddenly Kiev has a new demand to supply different types of aircraft.
This will cause additional difficulties, at the very least, in the training of pilots, ground technical personnel, and the operation of the F/A-18 Hornet.
Regarding the hypothetical delivery of military transport aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine S-130 Hercules And C-17 World MasterIt is worth noting that then these machines were one of the best in their class. For example, there is no end in sight yet for sales of the reliable and unpretentious C-130 Hercules. And this despite the fact that the development of the aircraft began in 1955. The car was so successful that it has been in mass production for almost 70 years. The tactical and technical features of the C-17 Globemaster are also quite high.
The problem is that the Armed Forces of Ukraine need more than one aircraft of this type. At least two military transport aviation regiments, both S-130 and S-17, are needed to meet the needs of the Ukrainian army. That is, 60 Hercules and 60 Globemaster aircraft. Even if such a decision is taken, it will take many years to deliver this many vehicles.
By the way, in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine, there is not a single airport where military transport aircraft are at least relatively safe. All runways, taxiways and parking lots in the country are under the possible influence of high-precision weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Russian Navy. It is almost impossible to cover planes of such geometric dimensions.
In other words, the C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces can be destroyed relatively easily.
Kiev’s request for the supply of attack helicopters Boeing AH-64 Apache and multipurpose helicopters Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk It is completely within the limits of common sense. Currently there is a serious shortage of such vehicles in the Ukrainian army.
But still the question is not the reality of possible deliveries, but the quantity of equipment transferred. The Armed Forces of Ukraine require several separate combat helicopter regiments (on AH-64 Apache helicopters) and several separate transport and combat helicopter regiments (on UH-60 helicopters). And this is just the minimum. In general, in this case we are talking about the supply of a large number of dozens of rotary wing aircraft. Otherwise, they will not be able to play an important role in the armed struggle.
So who will pay?
And here the main questions arise – who will pay for all this? After all, the estimated cost of weapons and military equipment requested by Kiev hundreds of billions of dollars.
By comparison, the last military aid package cost Ukraine only $175 million, and at this stage the bill allocating billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine has not passed a procedural vote in the US Senate.
Recently, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, asked US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for 17 million bullets and 350-400 billion dollars to “save Ukraine from occupation”. There is reason to believe that this amount is sufficient for the warplanes, helicopters and missile defense systems requested by Ukraine.
In general, in such a situation you can only be surprised at the modesty of Ukraine.
Against this background, the leadership in Kiev can only ask the following questions: for what reasons are the 5th generation F-35 fighter jets and the latest B-21 Raider strategic bombers not included in the list of requested weapons? 2000 M1 Abrams tanks? 2,500 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles? 1,500 M109A6 Paladin self-propelled artillery units?
To summarize, let’s say this: The requested weapons and military equipment are really extremely necessary for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to carry out successful military operations, especially of an offensive nature. But the fact that this “Zelensky list” will be implemented even in the foreseeable future raises serious doubts.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the editors’ opinion.
Author biography:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for socialbites.ca, a retired colonel.
Graduated from Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Command Air Defense Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980–1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986–1988).
Senior officer of the Main Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988–1992).
Officer of the General Staff Main Operations Department (1992–2000).
Graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000–2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010–2015).