Ukraine is successfully using aviation to shoot down the enemy’s jet-powered drones. It is now ramping up ammunition supplies for F-16 fighter jets.
This concerns 20 mm rounds. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an audio comment to journalists.
“We are now receiving the appropriate quantity, and it is very, very good. We have secured additional contracts and additional confirmations from partners. Ammunition must be delivered for the F-16s,” he said.
Fighter jets currently account for 50–60% of all shoot-downs of jet-powered Shaheds.
There are also several other solutions for downing jet-powered drones with cheap missiles. These are new solutions from partners that will soon be in Ukraine. The country also has its own production of such missiles.
Drones are also being intercepted with turrets — there have already been dozens of shoot-downs.
Separately, missiles PAC-2 and PAC-3 for intercepting ballistic threats are being discussed with partners.
“They know that we need their support,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about talks with European partners. The President said that Europe’s support for Ukraine is stronger than ever.
For next year and 2028, there will be a contract with Germany to supply missiles for Patriot systems; in parallel, as expected, the joint European-Ukrainian project “Freya” will begin operating. Ukraine has done its share of the work; much still depends on France, Germany, Denmark and Norway. The President explained that an anti-ballistic system is very complex and that it usually takes decades to develop.