Every weapon system "given" to Ukraine are from stock, old not used or time to replace every "given" equipment is followed with an order in the US (The military aid money goes to the US not to Ukraine.) to refill stock. The result is that the economy in those states with these factories profit from it, sometimes it is cheaper to send equipment, munition to Ukraine than decommission it. Some factories in the US has so many orders that they have long delays in new deliveries the Netherlands has a patriot battery for repair in the US but when it will be ready is not known.
Sweden first country to provide radar planes to combat airstrikes Russia
Ukraine is getting a major new weapons system to combat Russian airstrikes. As the first country, Sweden decided Wednesday to donate valuable radar aircraft to monitor its airspace. The aircraft will also support the operations of F-16s. The surprising Swedish move is a new sign that Ukraine's air force is on the verge of commissioning the F-16s promised by Western countries last year. Ukrainian Defence Minister Roestem Umerov said Tuesday that the air force could have the first fighter jets very soon".
With the two Saab 340 aircraft, similar to the American AWACS (Airborne warning and control system) aircraft, the Ukrainians will soon be able to see and track Russian fighter jets up to 300 to 400 kilometres. This information can be quickly relayed to the acquired F-16s so they can proceed to the attack. The crew of the Saab 340s can also track Russian cruise missiles, helicopters, ballistic missiles and naval vessels over a wide area. 'With these aircraft, Ukraine gains a completely new tool against air and sea targets,' the Swedish Defence Ministry said in a statement. 'Ukraine's ability to identify and engage long-range targets will be strengthened as a result.'
Defence Minister Pal Jonson said the introduction of the radar aircraft, in conjunction with the F-16s, will help Ukraine considerably on the battlefield. Right now, delivery will have the biggest impact on the Ukrainian air force, Jonson said. Sweden will also supply modern U.S. Amraam anti-aircraft missiles to arm the F-16s. Furthermore, the Swedes are relinquishing all their armoured tracked vehicles to enable the arming of new Ukrainian brigades. The weapons are part of a new Swedish military aid package for the Ukrainian army, worth 1.1 billion euros. It is the largest Swedish arms delivery to date since the invasion.
Radar aircraft are indispensable in a large-scale war. These flying radar stations can provide a much better picture than ground radar of what the enemy is doing in the airspace or on the ground. The best-known system, the AWACS (by Boeing, with the saucer-shaped radar), has been used by the US in numerous wars. Thanks in part to advanced radar technology, the Swedish aircraft can monitor hundreds of targets at once. 'We can see almost anything,' Swedish officer Alexander Thörner told the aviation magazine Flight Global about the missions of the Saab aircraft. 'If we know what we are looking for, we will find it 99 times out of 100: whether in the air or on the ground. It's really hard to hide from us.'
When Ukraine will get the planes, Sweden would not say. However, the Ukrainian Air Force should take into account that the Russians will do everything in their power to shoot the two Saab aircraft out of the sky as soon as possible. Because not only will it become more difficult for the Russian Air Force to operate in Ukrainian airspace when the Saab aircraft's missions begin, the operations of the F-16s will also become even more dangerous. However, Russia knows, because the radar aircraft's missions last about five hours, that they are an easy target for air defence systems such as the Russian S-400. Moscow has experienced this for itself in recent months. Ukraine managed to take down two Russian Beriev radar aircraft, which are much larger than the Swedish aircraft, in recent months. This was a big loss for the Russians. The air force would now have only six radar planes left.
https://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland...jden~baf08454/
Countries which have already authorized Ukraine the usage of their delivered weapons systems against targets on Russian soil:
- Finland
- UK
- The Netherlands
- France
- Poland
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Canada