Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium will be sending their F16s to Ukraine. I guess that means they’ll need to replenish their fleet by buying new American jets.
F-35s are absurdly expensive compared to F-16s though
They are also incredibly more capable.
Most militaries are going with a mix of F-35 for their capability as well as cheaper aircraft or high-capability drones for the sheer volume. Both have their place.
maintenance cost on F-35s are sort of absurd
tbh I’m not convinced that high-maintenance stealth aircraft will have a role in modern conflicts. The Russia-Ukraine war is highlighting the issues with over engineered Western weapons in sustained conflict. If you don’t dominate the opponent logistically, they’re impractical.
The biggest thing F-16 will provide to Ukraine is the fact it has been integrated with so many different weapons already. Almost any western nation can just ship their weird domestic flavor missile and there is a damn good chance it will just work with the F-16.
Why? Because F-16 was so highly produced and so cheap that almost every western country owns F-16 and has integrated their weapons with it already.
