Three countries started transferring ammunition for F-16 against jet drones to Ukraine
Spain, Belgium and Poland have started the process of transferring 20-mm ammunition to Ukraine, which is used by F-16 fighters to intercept Russian jet drones. Kyiv is also working on purchasing much larger batches of such ammunition from private manufacturers.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Ukrinform about this. According to him, the issue of the 20-mm caliber has become one of the critical ones for Ukrainian air defense due to the growing number of jet drones used by Russia.
Sybiha noted that F-16s are now actively used against such targets. The use of the onboard cannon allows not spending much more expensive anti-aircraft or aviation missiles on each drone. That is why Ukraine is trying to quickly form a sufficient stockpile of 20-mm ammunition.
According to the head of the MFA, Spain, Belgium and Poland have already started transferring ammunition, and the necessary batches should arrive in Ukraine in the near future. In parallel, Kyiv is looking for purchasing opportunities from private manufacturers. Sybiha expects that one of the future agreements could result in a package of several million units of ammunition.
The scale of the need is explained by the sharp increase in Russia's use of jet drones. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine is looking for tens of thousands of 20-mm shells for F-16s and is negotiating with several European countries and manufacturers.
According to the publication, about 150 shells may be needed on average for one interception of a jet drone. At the current intensity of attacks, the need may reach approximately 10 thousand rounds of ammunition per day. At the same time, 20-mm ammunition is much more available on the world market than scarce missiles for Patriot systems and other expensive air defense means.
Jet drones are a more difficult target than conventional Shaheds with propeller engines due to significantly higher speed. This increases the load on Ukrainian air defense and forces combining various means of interception - from fighters to specialized interceptor drones.
At the same time, Ukraine is checking the implementation of previously reached agreements with partners regarding aviation and air defense support. As Kurs Ukraine wrote, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed to separately analyze the supply of ammunition for F-16s and missiles for air defense for each country and each aid package.
The reason was the delay of part of the already agreed deliveries: agreements reached at the level of state leaders were in some cases never implemented at the working level. Kyiv seeks to accelerate their implementation before further intensification of Russian air attacks.
