British military analyst Sean Bell described the F-16 fighter jets slated for delivery to Kyiv as dated and unreliable. He shared these views in a televised interview for Time Radio.
He recalled piloting a Danish F-16 during the 1990s. Those aircraft performed well, he said, yet they were aging. Denmark had plans to retire them in the middle of the following year. Like any older vehicle, these fighters would suffer from reduced reliability as time passes, Bell observed.
Bell also warned that pilots from Western nations would not be able to fly combat aircraft inside Ukrainian airspace, because such involvement could spark a broader escalation. He noted that should Ukrainian pilots be effectively trained, they could hold their own against the Russian Air Force.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has stated that Kyiv is working with Dutch authorities to secure a batch of 42 F-16 jets. He explained that the transfer would require comprehensive training for both pilots and maintenance engineers. A spokesperson for Denmark later affirmed that the kingdom is prepared to provide F-16s to Ukraine, citing the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier reports indicated that the United States had reservations about when F-16s would be deployed to Ukraine. The evolving debate underscores the challenges of advanced jet transfers and the training pipelines necessary to sustain frontline air power in a high-stakes conflict.