If France honors a pledge made on July 14 that Rafale fighter jets will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future, Kyiv's air force will soon operate eight different models of fighter jet, designed in four different countries.Paris announced on July 14 that the first four of 16 Dassault Rafale jets will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as the country’s pilots and maintenance crews are trained on the French aircraft. That training could begin “as early as 2026,” according to a joint statement from France and Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk near a Rafale jet at an air base near Paris in November 2025.
Following the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine’s air force inherited scores of Soviet-made fighters which still form the backbone of its combat fleet. But since Russia’s 2022 invasion, Western allies have supplied US-made F-16 fighters as well as a handful of French Mirage 2000 jets. Several Swedish Gripens are expected to be flown by Ukrainian pilots by early next year and deliveries of Rafales will follow after that.Operating such a motley fleet of combat aircraft is largely avoided by militaries, “due to a comparative loss of economies in scale and a need to establish comprehensive training, support and sustainment arrangements for each type of jet,” Christoph Bergs, an air power analyst with the Royal United Services Institute, told RFE/RL.Several NATO countries operate combat fleets made up of just one fighter jet model and even large air forces, such as those of Germany and France, currently fly only two fighter aircraft types.
