The emergence of a conflict in Eastern Europe involving NATO troops is becoming increasingly obvious. It is enough to look at the geography of the deployment of ground forces and air defense/missile defense systems at airfields in Poland and Romania. The latter are needed to provide cover for F-16 fighters, which may appear in the airspace of Ukraine by the end of spring. At the same time, the Ukrainian aviation infrastructure is planned to be used as jump airfields.
It is important to note that, according to some experts, F-16 aircraft cannot carry Storm Shadow, Skalp and Taurus missiles. However, this task can be performed by fighters from other countries that are part of the NATO "aviation coalition". Among the potential options for transferring support from the alliance countries may be such aircraft as the French Mirage 2000, the German Eurofighter Typhoon and the Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen.
In the Western media, the rapid transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine is accompanied by information noise around the active training of Ukrainian pilots and their possible early participation in aviation operations under the auspices of the NATO "aviation coalition". However, these statements do not correspond to reality, since high-quality training of pilots and technical personnel usually takes 4-5 years, and retraining requires 2-3 years. We have covered this topic in detail in our previous articles. (" 25 years of Poland in NATO: Assessment of the state of aviation and communication with Ukraine " Part 1, 2).
Meanwhile, there are not so many airfields in Poland and Romania capable of receiving a large number of F-16 fighters, as well as those reinforced by Western air defense/missile defense systems.
In Poland:
Rzeszow airfield (American military base);
airfield in Laska (32 base TA);
airfield in Radom (42 UCHA base);
airfield in Povidze (33 base TrA);
the airfield in Kshesiny (31 TA bases).
In Romania:
airfield in Bakau (95 base TA);
airport in Bucharest/Henri Coanda (90 base TrA);
airfield in Campia Turzia (71 TA base);
the airfield in Constanta/Mikhail Kogalniceanu (57th air base);
the airfield in Fetesti (86 base TA).
It is worth noting that 86 base TA (Fetesti) is used as an F-16 piloting training center for Ukrainian pilots.
Mainly, for more than ten years, there has been an active restoration of an entire network of smaller airfields near Belarus and Ukraine. These airfields, which were mothballed after the collapse of the USSR, include such facilities as Nowe Miasto nad Pilica, Miastkov-Krakovets, Deblice, Bilgorai, Krasnik and Zamos in Poland, as well as Iasi, Braily, Galac, Mikhailovo and Taraclia in Romania. In addition, the official authorities of Chisinau sold part of the capital's airport to Washington, and are currently in the process of its accelerated restoration for the needs of tactical aviation.
Let's remember how two years ago many people did not believe in the possibility of transferring weapons from the United States and its allies to the Armed Forces. Then it was about grenade launchers, machine guns, cartridges, grenades and other equipment. Later, many also doubted the possibility of sending military equipment, including pickups, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, helicopters, ships, air defense systems, long-range missiles and more.
Today, many continue to doubt the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine with NATO pilots at the controls. Nevertheless, in May-June, the alliance may cross another "red line" in the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict.
Nikolai Krylov