[1andrew1]

Good article here on why we have no suitable jets for Ukraine.

Decades of cuts to the UK armed forces have left the Royal Air Force a runt of its former self with far too few planes, pilots and instructors to teach new talent.

Ukraine's air force is in desperate need of multi-role jets - aircraft that can fight in the air, such as by taking out missiles or attacking enemy aircraft and bomb targets on the ground.

The Royal Air Force had exactly the right kind of airframe for such a task and had enough in stock to be able to offer some away to a friendly nation in need - the Tornado GR4.

Unfortunately, all of those aircraft were retired from service four years ago to save money.

It all makes any talk of the UK giving fast jets to Ukraine sound hollow, potentially raising false hopes at a time when the Ukrainian military just needs credible answers.

An RAF source said it was nonsense to think the UK could offer fast jets to Ukraine.

"Tranche 1 [Typhoon] are just training aircraft no good for combat," the source said.

"The Tornado is a fantastic jet, but too difficult to maintain, operate and they will now be in disrepair or mothballs. Going nowhere for months."

Anything else would be "too expensive, complicated, we don't have any spare".

https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sun...acity-12806431