Ukraine is building underground stores and bunkers to protect F-16s as the jets' arrival moves closer

• Ukraine is preparing ways to protect its F-16s while at base, its air force said.
• This includes building bunkers and dispersing the US-made aircraft when they arrive.

Ukraine's air force said it is preparing for the arrival of F-16s by building underground stores and bunkers at its bases.

Major Ilya Yevlash, a spokesperson for the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that Ukraine's plans for how to keep the much-sought-after aircraft safe while at base are being carefully developed.

He said the effort "necessitates proper preparation of their basing locations. It involves substantial costs, including underground shelters and bunkers. Therefore, methods are being developed on how best to deploy them," according to RBC-Ukraine.

Yevlash also said that Ukraine will disperse the jets to different types of bases, making it harder for Russia to detect them.

Ukraine is due to get its first F-16s this summer, and its pilots have been training on the advanced jets in allied countries for months.

The planes will boost Ukraine's air force, which is smaller and older than Russia's, and will allow Ukraine to conduct more strikes against Russia, while also adding to its defensive capabilities.

Ukraine has been requesting US-made F-16s since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, but the US did not sign off on allowing allies to send them until last summer.

Military aircraft are often at their most vulnerable when they are sat at base, and countries concentrate weaponry like air defense systems around airbases as a result.

Ukraine has been able to take out Russian aircraft while they are grounded.

The Associated Press has reported that Ukraine may use Western air bases when it gets F-16s because the jets require high-standard runways and protective hangars.

But the air force's update suggests that Ukraine plans on keeping at least some F-16s in Ukraine during periods when they are not flying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month that Western air bases that host F-16s for Ukraine would be "legitimate" targets for his armed forces.

Former US military pilots told Business Insider's Jake Epstein that Ukraine will be the most dangerous battlefield that F-16s have faced, even though they have been used for decades in heavy fighting.