Britain to send fighter jets...but it’ll be too late
BRITAIN is making plans to give 10 Typhoon fighter jets to help Ukraine – but they are unlikely to be delivered in time for any major counter-offensive this year.
It follows Rishi Sunak’s decision last week to train Ukrainian pilots in Nato tactics and use Eurofighter Typhoon simulators.
Britain will also give 100 bunker-busting Storm Shadow cruise missiles – which will place Russia’s crucial Kerch bridge in Crimea in the crosshairs once more – plus hi-tech Sky Sabre air defence systems.
Training for Ukrainian pilots will be delivered by 29 Squadron, the RAF’S Typhoon operational conversion unit at RAF Coningsby, and is expected to be “highly intensive”.
But RAF sources said this does not commit Britain to give fighter jets. And one senior military
officer who regularly briefs Ben Wallace outlined a clash between the Defence Secretary’s “cautious approach” and that of Mr Sunak, who is keen to give Volodymyr Zelensky the airpower he wants.
“There is a difference in approach on this specific issue
between Rishi Sunak and the Secretary of State for Defence, who is more cautious,” they said.
“His concern is that Ukrainian forces may reach a point when they decide to launch attacks on Russian soil – and doing so in a Typhoon may bring about repercussions with Russia.
“Deploying next year will give us breathing space and a chance
that the war will be effectively concluded. Essentially, we can choose to deliver Typhoons reasonably quickly. It will entail many challenges, but if a political decision is made, it can be done.
“The question is whether caution will trump a degree of risk.”
Last week Mrwallace seemed to pour cold water over the prospect of UK fighter jets being sent this year, suggesting instead that they might be deployed after the war as part of a long-standing plan to modernise Ukraine’s air force and defend its skies. This cautious approach was confirmed with the offer to train Ukrainian pilots.
An RAF source said: “While this intensive training is being carried out in Typhoon simulators, its chief purpose is not to teach Ukrainian pilots to fly Typhoons in the first instance. It is about battle-space management and learning new skills based around the Nato playbook – skills that can be effectively deployed using Ukraine’s own air frames.”
The offer of the Storm Shadow missile system is not linked to any Typhoon offer, but will be attached to Ukraine’s own Soviet-era fighter jets in the same manner as AGM-88 HARM missiles.
Justin Crump, CEO of Sibylline strategic risk group, said: “There is really little difference in equipping Ukraine fighter planes to fire Uk-built Storm Shadow, which could strike Russian territory, and giving them EX-RAF Typhoons.
“What we are seeing is the Defence Secretary being rightfully cautious as he tries to keep up with shifting red lines.”