Local opinion: F-16s for Ukraine, bah humbug

The persistent news coverage of F-16 aircraft destined to Ukraine from the U.S. raises expectations of a significant development in the Ukrainian/Russian conflict. To support the transfer of aircraft, Ukrainian pilots have started transition training in the U.S. For months, pundits have characterized the transfer of F-16’s to Ukraine as a game-changer. Bah humbug! The F-16 is a 40-year-old airplane and after four to six months of transition training, the Ukrainians will be nugget pilots (Navy term for first-tour carrier aviators) destined to operate in an extremely hostile sky over Ukraine. Given the Russian air defenses, the life expectancy of these nugget pilots will not be enviable.

Inexplicably, the U.S. has been reluctant to provide the Ukrainians with weapons systems that would be most effective against the Russians. Specifically, stealth F-35 fighters and the ATACM long range surface-to-surface missiles that Ukraine has requested. These are not new, mystical military technologies that the U.S. is trying to keep under wraps. The F-35 aircraft have been exported to 16 different countries. Long-range ATACMS are sitting on the shelves of at least a half dozen U.S. allies. These systems could be put to practical use immediately in Ukraine and specifically in Crimea.

The sizable Russian military force in occupied Crimea is dependent on continuous resupply from the Russian mainland. The resupply route consists of the rail and road Kerch bridge that links the eastern end of Crimea with the Russian mainland. The only other physical access to the Crimean peninsula consists of a rail and highway link between the western end of Crimea and the currently, Russian occupied, southern part of Ukraine. Without these resupply routes, the Russian military in Crimea would be unsustainable. The loss of Crimea would be both a tactical and psychological blow to the Russians. A blow the Russian leadership in Moscow may not survive.

The Russians are keenly aware of the significance of the Kerch resupply route and the bridge is heavily defended from both sea and air attacks. But this is exactly the environment in which the F-35 is designed to operate. With a load of heavy bombs, one F-35 could make the Kerch bridge unusable for the foreseeable future. An intrinsic benefit of the F-35 in Ukraine would be a test of U.S. stealth technology in a real-life hostile environment. An F-16 without sophisticated electronic warfare support would not likely survive over Crimea, much less the Kerch bridge.

Long-range ATACMS could be launched from Ukrainian controlled territory and reach anywhere in Crimea or Russian-occupied Eastern Ukraine. This weapon system could effectively disrupt the western supply route to the Crimean peninsula and engage the Russian occupation forces inside Crimea. Significantly, ATACMS are stand-off weapons. They can attack the enemy without jeopardizing Ukrainian lives.

The White House appears reluctant to antagonize the Russians with our most effective weapon systems and Congress is reluctant to authorize additional expenditures. NATO was organized specifically to keep Russian aggression at bay. Ukraine, alone, is accomplishing NATO’s mission! And the cost for the U.S.? The support for the Ukrainian war effort currently amounts to less than 4% of the annual U.S. defense budget. What a bargain!

Unfortunately, that bargain stops at the Ukrainian border where heroism, sacrifice, and resolve are the order of the day. The courage displayed by the Ukrainians in opposing Russian expansion deserves full American support and commitment. American F-16s and 4% of the defense budget hardly make the grade. Unfortunately, even this incremental support for Ukraine is stymied by parochial political squabbles in Congress and a conflict appeasement sentiment in the White House. Where is the America that the whole world grew to admire, and when overseas, the pride one felt in saying “I’m an American.”