Political expert and military serviceman Oleksandr Musiyenko stated that the Rafale fighter jets, which Ukraine has ordered from France, along with Swedish Gripen jets, will become part of the future upgrade of Ukraine’s Air Force, Politeka reports.
He shared his thoughts in his blog.
“This is good. It’s a declaration of intent. There are both pros and cons to this. In order to carry out this declaration, an appropriate agreement still needs to be made. It needs to be financed. This is an important point – the funds. Where will they come from, and who will pay? And what are the timeframes? As of now, there’s no information on the production and delivery timelines for the aircraft. However, it’s clear that, in general, contracts of this kind in international practice are estimated to take between 5 to 10 years,” notes Oleksandr Musiyenko.
The expert also reminds that Ukraine has similar agreements, including the same type of protocol with Sweden for the delivery of over 100 Gripen fighter jets, but that, too, is planned for many years ahead. In other words, he explains, this is a gradual process, and international practice doesn’t allow for anything faster—producing fighter jets requires a certain amount of time.
However, the expert states that, in the long term, this will become a tool for upgrading the Air Force’s fleet. Though technically, this process will not be simple, as it involves integrating different aircraft into a single system. Each aircraft will require specific maintenance, trained personnel, equipment, and armament under the wings.
“But again, in the long run, this is a very good signal for updating our Air Force. Moreover, France and Sweden, through these kinds of contracts, demonstrate their faith in Ukraine and in the belief that even in 10 years, Ukraine will remain sovereign and independent, will continue to develop, will follow a pro-Western, European course, and will be purchasing these planes. So this is an investment in the future and a vote of confidence in Ukraine, which is very important. Of course, international practice has seen some different situations in the past. Unfortunately, there have been cases where contracts were delayed or canceled for various reasons or force majeure, but I hope this time it won’t be the case,” sums up Oleksandr Musiyenko.
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