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Politico: The West is discussing the supply of not only F-16s but also F-18s to Ukraine

Author:
Oleksiy Yarmolenko
Date:

Greg Mathieson / Mai / Getty Images

Western countries began to discuss the supply of not only F-16 aircraft, but also F-18s to Ukraine. This will increase the number of countries that will be able to provide Ukraine with Western aviation.

Politico writes about it.

For the first time, this issue was raised in closed meetings during the "Shangri-La Dialogue" in Singapore. But this plan is still far from being implemented.

Dozens of F-18s could be available for sale by the end of this decade as they are gradually replaced by more modern F-35s. In addition, it will increase the number of countries that can transfer aircraft to Ukraine.

For example, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Spain and Finland have F-18s. Some of these countries already have F-35 contracts.

The F-16 and F-18 are almost identical aircraft, but they have some differences. The F-18 is faster and has two engines, and its landing gear is stronger. In contrast, the F-16 has a longer range and can stay in the sky longer without refueling. As for the armament, it is almost the same on both planes — a number of different missiles can be mounted on them.