German Defense Minister: Our fighter jets are not suitable for Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius believes that the fighter jets currently operated by Germany are not suitable for deployment in Ukraine.

Pistorius made the statement at a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's defense on Friday, AFP reports.

According to the head of the German Defense Ministry, German Tornado and Eurofighter fighters have completely different capabilities than those that are currently needed in the current combat situation in Ukraine.

In addition, Germany itself needs Tornados to transport American nuclear bombs in the event of a crisis.

"Ukrainian pilots are helped, first of all, by aircraft that they can use quickly, that can be serviced locally, where the technology is known," said Pistorius, referring to the Soviet MiG-29 fighters that have already been transferred to Ukraine by Poland and Slovakia.

"Each aircraft that is added now increases the challenges for training or upgrading pilots. You can't just switch from one system to another," he added.

Ukraine, as you know, has long been demanding modern fighter jets from the West.

NATO partners Poland and Slovakia have supplied Ukraine with Soviet-designed Mig-29 fighters. They had also been used in Ukraine before, so local pilots did not need special training to operate these aircraft.

Author - Olena Madiak, 21/04/2023