A new plan drawn up by military experts suggests that a European air force of 120 fighter jets operated separately from NATO could secure the skies from Russian attacks without provoking a wider conflict with Moscow.
“Sky Shield” would be operated over uncontested areas of Ukraine to halt Russian cruise missile and drone attacks on cities and infrastructure, potentially operating as part of the “truce in the sky” proposed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this week, The Guardian newspaper reports.
It requires 120 F-16s, or equivalent aircraft – F-35, Mirage, Eurofighter Typhoon, JAS 39 Gripen – flying from European airbases,
Supporters of the plan include retired U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, former head of U.S. European Command, and retired British army general and former deputy NATO supreme commander Richard Shirreff, who said it could “achieve greater military, political, and socioeconomic impact than 10,000 European ground troops.”
