Poland becomes first NATO nation to give fighter jets to Ukraine: What does this mean for the war?

Poland has said it will supply around a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, making it the first NATO member to do so.President Andrzej Duda announced on Thursday (March 16) that Warsaw will deliver four of the Soviet-made warplanes “within the next few days,” reported Associated Press (AP).He said the rest required servicing and will be sent later. “They are in the last years of their functioning, but they are in good working condition,” the Polish president added.Slovakia, another NATO member, is also expected to supply MiGs to Ukraine in the coming weeks, as per NPR.Warsaw, one of the dedicated supporters of Ukraine, has taken the lead in convincing other, sometimes reluctant, allies in aiding Kyiv with heavy weaponry.Ukraine has long been requesting a hesitant West to supply modern warplanes to combat Russia.How effective are MiG-29 fighter jets and how warplanes can help Ukraine in the war with Russia? Let’s take a closer look.MiG-29 fighter jetsUkraine has been operating MiG-29 multirole fighter jets for decades. It had inherited dozens of these planes following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.Codenamed Fulcrum by NATO, these Soviet-designed warplanes have a range of 1,430 kilometres and can fly at a maximum altitude of 18 km, reported BBC.This single-seat, twin-engine air-to-air fighter jet first came to service in 1985, noted Forces.net.[caption id="attachment_12308552" align="alignnone" width="640"] Soviet-designed MiG-29 fighter jets have a range of 1,430 kilometres. Reuters Representational Photo[/caption]As per Deutsche Welle (DW), they are highly manoeuvreable in aerial combat and can even stand vertically in the air on their own for short lengths of time.According to IISS think tank, when Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Kyiv had around 120 combat capable aircraft – mostly Mig-29s and Su-27s.Ukraine eyes US-made F-16sThe Guardian noted that Ukraine believes that a fleet of fast fighter jets could help during its spring offensive or at least “blunt a mass Russian attack”.Ukraine has asked the West to provide it with fourth-generation fighters, such as F-16s.

Developed in the US in the 1970s, F-16 Fighting Falcon is a lightweight fighter aircraft.

It was first deployed in 1979, with the US airforce using it in both the Iraq wars and in Afghanistan, as per The Guardian.It is still widely used and is currently in service in 25 countries, according to the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin.The US has turned down Ukraine's repeated requests for F-16s saying it would take too long to train Ukrainian pilots on them and Russia’s anti-aircraft systems can easily down them.After Poland’s decision to provide fighter jets to Ukraine, White House National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, said: “There’s no change in our view with respect to fighter aircraft at this time,” reported AP. The debate over providing warplanes to Ukraine began last year, with NATO allies expressing opposition as they fear it would escalate the alliance's role in the war.Earlier, Britain and Germany also denied the possibility of sending warplanes to Ukraine.Now, with Poland sending the fighter jets, pressure on NATO members could increase to follow suit.After initial denial, the US and Germany had previously decided to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine.How can fighter jets help in the war?Experts say fighter aircraft are extremely fast and can strike targets in the air as well as on the ground.They can help Ukraine in shifting its “operations very quickly across the entire country”, Jarmo Lindberg, a retired Finnish general and chief of defence, told Euronews.He said Western fighter jets have “a far more advanced capability than what they are now getting from Western countries.”[caption id="attachment_12308562" align="alignnone" width="640"] Fighter jets can help Ukraine to control the skies and protect its ground troops against Russian attacks, say experts. AP (Representational Image)[/caption]As per DW, in the case of aerial combat, fighter jets can be equipped with air-to-air missiles that can hit a flying target.Leonhard Houben, a historian and freelancer at the Berlin-Gatow Military History Museum, said to hit a target on the ground, warplanes can deploy air-to-ground missiles or “drop simple free-fall bombs that fall to the ground according to the laws of physics”, reported DW.Ukrainian officials and some experts say fighter jets can help Ukraine to control the skies and protect their ground troops from attack by Russian forces.While the use of the air force in the ongoing war has been limited, experts say Kyiv can lose fighter jets and would need replenishment.Ukraine needs “an air force to be viable to have a credible defence in the medium to long-term”, Jan Joel Andersson, a senior analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, was quoted as saying by Euronews.Ukraine has lost around 53 combat aircraft so far since the war began, as per an estimate by Dutch monitoring group Oryx.

Though Poland’s MiG-29s would uplight Ukraine’s air defences, they are not likely to prove decisive in the war, as per BBC.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Mykola Bielieskov, research fellow at the Kyiv-based National Institute for Strategic Studies, a government-backed think tank, said that the Polish fighter jets have some advanced targeting capabilities, but they would not give any “qualitative edge to Ukraine’s air power”.“Those Soviet-origin fighters, while good to have, won’t bring more capability compared to the MiG-29s in the Ukrainian arsenal,” he said.Bielieskov said Ukraine is still seeking Western fighters that could offer it a "qualitative advantage".“This at least kicks the can down the road on Western fourth-generation fighters and buys some time [among allies] for discussion.”Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister, told BBC that the Polish jets would be used "very efficiently by our air force".However, he asserted that Ukraine wanted "fourth generation" jets, such as F-16s."They are more universal platforms, they are more capable and of course they will make Ukrainian air forces more efficient," he said, as per BBC.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.