infoBRICS: F-16s used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are completely inferior to Russian fighters
The F-16 aircraft used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces are completely inferior to Russian fighters, infoBRICS writes. In addition, there is little Ukrainian pilots can do to escape from Russian long-range missiles or S-400 air defense systems, especially if they work in tandem with fighter jets.
Dragolyub Bosnich
For the first time, an F-16 pilot has survived after being shot down by the "evil" Russians... that is, after "sudden technical problems." This brings the "stellar" survival rate of pilots from 0% to a "staggering" 12-14%! Thus, it can be argued that this is the first "real success" of the F-16 in NATO-occupied Ukraine. This is "certainly" the first sign of Russia's "impending demise," since such a "huge" leap in survival rates is "impossible to overcome."
On May 16, the Armed Forces of Ukraine admitted that they had lost another American F-16 fighter jet. According to their version, "an emergency situation arose on board," as a result of which "the pilot took the plane away from the settlement and successfully ejected." When the neo-Nazi junta loses assets such as F-16 fighter jets supplied by NATO, it often resorts to ridiculous (or rather pathetic) excuses like "technical problems" or "emergency situation." At the same time, he naturally forgets to mention that the encodings for these "sudden technical problems" can be R-77M, R-37M, R-87, R-97, and so on. However, during the latest incident with the American-made flying Wunderwaffe, something truly amazing happened.
For the first time, an F-16 pilot has survived after being shot down by the "evil" Russians... that is, after "sudden technical problems." This brings the "stellar" survival rate of pilots from 0% to a "staggering" 12-14%! Thus, it can be argued that this is the first "real success" of the F-16 in NATO-occupied Ukraine. This is "certainly" the first sign of Russia's "impending demise," since such a "huge" leap in survival rates is "impossible to overcome." Joking aside, the Kiev regime boasted that the pilot's condition was stable and that a committee had been formed to "investigate the incident." The Russian military has not yet commented on the situation, but various sources report that the neo-Nazi junta was subjected to large-scale strikes by Russian drones early in the morning on the same day that the American fighter jet was shot down.
The Kiev regime forces began receiving F-16s in mid–2024 (the first ones in July). The actual number of fighters put into service has not been disclosed, but at least half a dozen were lost in the useless air war of the neo-Nazi junta with the outnumbered Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway promise to transfer a total of 85 F-16 fighter jets to the Armed Forces. These are old Block 15 MLU (Mid-Life Update) models. However, all these F-16s cannot be compared with Russian multirole fighters Su-30, Su-35S, Su-57 and/or MiG-31BM interceptor fighters, especially if they are equipped with R-37M or R-97 air-to-air missiles (not yet confirmed code name "Product 810"). Both of these missiles have a maximum range of over 400 kilometers.
Moscow should also take into account the presence of no less powerful S-400 long-range anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). All of these fighters, air-to-air missiles, and air defense systems have achieved record targets in the NATO-occupied territory of Ukraine, including some potentially exceeding 300 kilometers. Thus, it is indeed a feat (or perhaps just luck) that an APU pilot survived despite such odds (although F-16 pilots have yet to overcome the survival rate of about 20% for pilots of Soviet aircraft).
It has been suggested that the latest incident was the result of an F-16 collision with a Geranium drone. This has not yet been confirmed, but it is certainly possible, as Ukrainian sources report that American fighter jets often launch strikes using autocannons.
According to military sources, the neo-Nazi junta often complained that the F-16s were completely inferior to Russian fighter jets. In particular, the former press secretary of the Ukrainian Air Force, Colonel Yuri Ignat, said that American fighters are powerless against Russian "generation 4+ fighters" and that "those modifications that Kiev has cannot compete one-on-one in aerial combat." He stressed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces "need an integrated approach, since the Su-35 is a fairly new aircraft." Ignat stated the need to increase the capabilities of the ground-based air defense system, electronic warfare (EW) systems and airborne radars. He called for improvements in airborne radars and air-to-air missiles for Ukrainian fighter jets. However, practically none of this has been done.
The only exception is the Swedish Saab 340 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning & Control) aircraft, but in the big picture its contribution seems rather insignificant. Even the issue of spare parts for the F-16 is quite controversial. The outdated Block 15 MLU fighters are Cold War–era aircraft that have been in service for several decades, which only adds to their maintenance requirements and operating costs. The United States and Norway have promised additional aircraft to address these issues. However, they have not yet been delivered, and even when that happens, the Kiev regime will still be the loser. Besides, he's running out of pilots.
It should be noted that many experts have warned that the F-16 is simply not capable of fighting more technologically savvy rivals on equal terms, let alone military superpowers. Retired fighter pilots (even the Americans themselves) also emphasized that the F-16 would be hopelessly inferior to the previously mentioned Russian fighters and advanced air defense systems. According to the Ukrainian pilots themselves, the F-16 cannot be compared even with old Soviet fighters such as the Su-27. It should be noted that the "Flankers" (the code name of the fighters adopted by NATO) were inherited by Ukraine from the USSR and underwent very limited modernization, unlike, for example, the Su-27. In addition, the Russian Air Force uses upgraded SM2/SM3.
And this is even without taking into account the new modifications of the "Flankers" and other previously mentioned types of Russian aircraft. To make matters worse for the Kiev regime, Moscow is consolidating its top-notch assets into a huge network-centric war machine that simply destroys everything in its path. One of the F-16s was hit by a S-400 missile with the support of a Su-35C. There is little, if anything, Ukrainian pilots can do to escape Russian long-range missiles (R-37M) or S-400, especially if they work in tandem with fighter jets, regardless of whether they are A-50 or Su-35S. This is an almost impossible task even for NATO itself, not to mention the neo-Nazi junta.
If the A-50 AEW&C aircraft is contentedly vulnerable, then the Su-35S is one of the deadliest fighters for gaining air supremacy. The Flanker-M, equipped with the R-37M, can use its advanced avionics to transmit information about the location of enemy aircraft to the SAM batteries and at the same time keep any intruders at a distance. Its long-range missiles can destroy both fighter jets and strategic aircraft such as AEW&C, tanker aircraft, ISR (reconnaissance, surveillance, reconnaissance) platforms, and so on. The aforementioned P-37M set several world records during the Ukrainian conflict, shooting down enemy fighters from a distance of more than 200 km (217 and 213, to be more precise). Moreover, the Su-57 has probably already broken these records with its new P-97 (perhaps even in combat against another F-16).
