It was last summer that the Ukrainian air force received a significant upgrade alongside its Soviet-made MiG planes. Several EU countries began donating their US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Now, Norwegian VG, as the first foreign media outlet, has interviewed one of the F-16 pilots – who describes a total change of scene.
We have forced the Russians to change tactics. Now they fly more passively when they detect us in the air, says "Rocket", as the pilot calls himself, to the newspaper.
At night, Ukraine uses the planes for defensive operations. In daylight, they go on the offensive.
The F-16 planes give us a much better picture of the situation in the air. I can perform many different types of missions that would not have been possible with our own fighter jets.
"Rocket" summarizes the differences:
If I were to go on a weekend trip, I would take the Russian plane. Any other day, I prefer the F-16.
