Pro-Russian resources are disseminating information that two trucks with disassembled F-16 aircraft allegedly entered Ukraine from Poland. At the same time, propagandists fear that fighters may be armed with AIM-120D air-to-air missiles, which are capable of destroying air targets at a distance of 150 to 180 kilometers.

The information that the F-16 is already in Ukraine and also in disassembled form is fake. Specialists from the VoxCheck team write about this, in particular. Representative of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yurii Ihnat considers such reports to be unfounded, noting that the movement of F-16 aircraft to the territory of Ukraine is possible only after appropriate preparation of infrastructure and personnel. Volodymyr Zelenskyi believes that the first F-16 aircraft will most likely arrive in Ukraine in 2024.

The very preparation of pilots for transfer to the F-16 in Britain can take up to two years, and in the USA, probably until the end of 2024. In Denmark, Ukrainian pilots are already training on fighter jets, so it is expected that the planes will arrive from there the fastest.

The main armament of the F-16 fighters is the AIM-9X air-to-air missile. Also used are air-to-air missiles AIM-7 and AIM-120 AMRAAM, which in the latest modification in homing mode can hit a target at a distance of 180 kilometers. According to Yurii Ihnat, Ukraine needs F-16 fighters to hit the enemy from the air, push Russian aircraft away from the borders of Ukraine and destroy drones.

By spreading this disinformation, propagandists seek to discredit international military support for Ukraine. In addition, the creation of such fakes may be associated with the preparation of the internal population of Russia for the upcoming “bad news” from Ukraine, as a consequence of the upcoming work of pilots on F-16 fighters. Previously, we denied information that the Russian military had already allegedly destroyed several F-16s in Ukraine.