Poland says it won't send F16s to Ukraine, but looking into sending MiG29s amid the war

During the Munich Security Conference on 17 February, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki made it clear that Poland will not be providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. However, he expressed a willingness to collaborate with other NATO member states to offer alternative fighter jets, as per a report from the Kyiv Independent. Morawiecki cited Poland's limited F-16 arsenal as the reason behind this decision.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that Poland had already supplied 250 tanks to Ukraine and would be sending an additional 60 modernized tanks and 14 Leopard-2 tanks. It is worth adding that according to an interview with Ukrinform on 17 February, Polish President Andrzej Duda suggested that providing MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine could be a feasible alternative due to their lower training requirements. "They would immediately strengthen Ukrainian defense, and this is very important. Of course, very few NATO countries have MiG aircraft. We have several of these planes, and we will consider the issue," the Polish President said. 

Why MiG-29s and not F16s?

The MiG-29 is a twin-engine air superiority fighter jet designed and manufactured by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union. It first entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and since then, it has been exported to many other countries, including India, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Poland. The MiG-29 is a highly maneuverable aircraft that can reach a maximum speed of over 1,500 miles per hour and has a range of about 1,200 miles. It is armed with a 30mm cannon and can carry various air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and bombs.

Over the years, several variants of the MiG-29 have been developed, with upgrades to avionics, engines, and weapons systems. It has been used in various conflicts, including the Gulf War, the Yugoslav Wars, and the Syrian Civil War. Despite its age, the MiG-29 remains a significant fighter jet in the inventories of many countries due to its relatively low cost and effectiveness in certain roles.

On the other hand, the  F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for the United States Air Force (USAF). It first entered service in 1979 and has since become one of the most widely used fighter jets in the world, with over 4,600 units produced and used by 26 countries. As the Ukrainians troops are more used to legacy Soviet military technology, Ukrainian pilots will be more comfortable with the MiG-29s. The learning curve for F16s will be much more steep and it would require much more time, which the Ukrainians can't afford.