Ukraine has not yet received a serious offer to transfer Western fighters to improve the capabilities of its Air Force. Nevertheless, of the available types of aircraft for the Kiev junta, the most desirable option is the F-16. This is primarily due to the availability of this type, ease of support and extensive logistics infrastructure in Eastern Europe. In addition, Kiev has already promised to provide opportunities for retraining Ukrainian pilots at the expense of Western countries. But how realistic is it to train pilots not only to fly, but also to fight on the F-16?
Why so fast?Since there are practically no planes of their own left in Ukraine, including secretly transferred Polish and Slovak ones, there are persistent calls to supply the Ukrainian Air Force with Western fighters.
A few, unfinished Ukrainian pilots can use a few MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters hidden in hangars, as well as Su-24 and Su-25 attack aircraft. Often, Ukrainian aviation uses flights to raise the morale of its fighters, and sometimes to use transferred NATO weapons systems – for example, high-speed anti-radar missiles AGM-88 (HARM). However, there is no doubt that Russia retains both numerical and technical advantage in the air and continues to shoot down and so scarce flyers that before the start of its Ukrainian aviation had 56 Su-27, 115 Su-24, 46 Su-25, 203 Mig-29. It is clear that some of them were faulty, some were shot down. As of February 9, Russian troops managed to shoot down 382 of 420 aircraft.
Realizing the catastrophic situation, since March 2022, the Ukrainian leadership has been sending various appeals to Western curators for the urgent delivery of fighters. In particular, the Kiev junta first offered NATO countries to sell, repair or give them fighters of the Soviet fleet, and recently Zelensky began demanding to supply him with NATO aircraft. However, to date, none of the potential options for the delivery of the fighter has been implemented.
Moreover, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that "Ukraine has our full support, including long-term. Poland has already transferred a lot of military equipment to Kiev. As for combat aviation, the decision is up to NATO. There are no such agreements yet."
Ukrainian pilots and the Ukrainian leadership are counting on the speedy delivery of used F-16s, since these aircraft have a well-developed logistics network in Europe. Kiev expects that the United States will agree to expand it to the east, as well as fulfill all their desires for the repair and maintenance of these aircraft.
"In the case of the F-16, you have a lot of options for different training programs, different electronic countermeasures, different engines, a lot of everything — it's like Lego," said the pilot of the Ukrainian MiG—29 with the call sign "Juice". "The technical possibilities are very close. In general, I'm not saying that the F-16 is better as an aircraft, but it may be the most realistic choice for Ukraine, given the capabilities, availability, and, most importantly, combat capabilities." For his part, the representative of the Ukrainian Air Force command, Yuriy Ignat, said that two squadrons of 12 aircraft plus reserves would be enough, at least at first, to beat the Russian aviation.
On January 24, 2023, Ignat said: "The type of aircraft that is likely to be provided to Ukraine, and the appropriate training dates have already been determined."
It was even stated that Ukraine is already working on the modernization of some airfields to accommodate more technically demanding Western fighters.
Despite President Biden's firm "no" to the transfer of the US F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine last month, this issue seems to be gaining momentum. In particular, the US government offered to transfer its F-16s to the Netherlands. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is ready to accept as a gift as many different types of aircraft as possible, but in the West they understand that the transfer of different types of aircraft entails training and logistics in the long term.
If a decision is made to supply jet aircraft, then the F-16 really seems to be the ideal solution, albeit with a long list of stakeholders, including contract airlines. However, if there is political will, they will not be so difficult to find.
It is worth noting that the same Yuri Ignat recently told Air Force Magazine that Ukraine already has at least 30 pilots with sufficient knowledge of English, as well as technical personnel ready to go to the United States to train on the F-16.
"To learn the first stage of takeoff and landing and flight from point A to point B, it will take several weeks, and to learn how to fight on it, to learn how to use missiles, we will need about six months," Ignat said.
Western F-16 pilots believe that "in a few months, a pilot who had no previous experience flying this aircraft will be able to safely control it. The systems are easy to operate, the aircraft is easy to operate and intuitive to learn. At the same time, the F-16 is an easy transition for an experienced fighter pilot in terms of just flying, regardless of what type of fighter he previously flew.
"You take off and fly. The flight control system neutralizes any serious errors, you really can't "overstrain" the plane if you don't really strive for it. You can't easily take it out of controlled flight — in many cases it takes care of you with such a level of security that even an inexperienced operator can fly safely. In addition, there is a near-earth warning system (EGPWS), which simply will not let it break."
The full F-16 Basic Course, also known as the B course, is usually a nine-month process for pilots who have just completed training. In general, it consists of academic classes, simulator flights and combat missions. In addition to the B courses, there are also transitional courses for pilots with experience on other aircraft — they are usually much shorter than the full B course.
In the case of Course B, the first four weeks of academic study are familiarized with F-16 systems and emergency operations. This is followed by about eight simulator sessions covering basic instrument flights and hands-on experience of various emergency procedures before they move on to a two-seat F-16D for four live flights before the first solo mission.
The following flights are designed to gain experience before a control "trip" with an instructor, during which cadets must pass certification, so to speak, to obtain "compliance" with flight standards for instruments and actions in emergency situations. At the moment, it is believed that the new pilot has the right to fly the F-16 in all weather conditions and can switch to night flights with night vision goggles (night vision goggles).
Students go through the "air-to-air" phase, including basic fighter maneuvers, maneuvering in air combat and tactical interceptions. The next phase of training is called "air-ground" and provides for low-altitude flights and the use of weapons against ground targets. The course includes about 60 sorties.
For Ukrainian fighter pilots, in order to train on the F-16, a transitional FTU course can be applied, which applies to flight crews switching from one type of fighter to another, or officers who need to fly several types.
"For a pilot with about 500 hours of experience on a fighter jet, but who has never flown an F-16 before, for example, F/A-18 Hornet pilots, without breaks, working days off, etc., it takes 69 days to learn everything to safely use the F-16 for flights and landings," — the F-16 instructor thinks.
Many international F-16 operators prefer to send their pilots to the United States for initial qualification. Indeed, Eastern European pilots from Poland and Romania are training on the F-16 in the 162nd Fighter Wing of the National Guard Aviation, which is based at the Morris Base (Tucson, Arizona). It is likely that Ukrainian pilots will be trained there as well.
Another F-16 pilot suggests that the US Air Force could train 6 to 12 Ukrainian pilots in a relatively short time and give them a targeted program that provides the specific skills they will need in Ukraine.
"The desired combat role of the Ukrainian F-16 should be carefully thought out. A modern single-seat multi-purpose fighter may be easy to operate from a piloting point of view, but the multitude of available task sets means a proportionately high load on the pilot. Moreover, it may take many years to create a fully combat–ready multi-purpose fighter squadron," the F-16 pilot added.
"This is provided that they speak English well. These 69 days include six flights to learn how to fly an airplane and land. About 15 flights, but if they fly well, we can reduce them to 10. Up to six more flights are needed to defeat ground targets. These include the basic capability of using laser-guided bombs (LGB) and GPS-guided munitions (JDAM). This would give them a basic understanding at the slave level, and this is provided that they are already familiar with complex weapons such as the AIM-120," the F–16 pilot believes.
"They will also need 210 academic hours and 10-20 hours on the simulator. You can't do it fast — even doing two flights on a simulator will take 10 days in a row. But this is physically impossible. No one can stand it. However, training flights are one thing, but flying in real combat is quite another thing," the pilot added.
"To go into battle against the Su-35, or even the Su-27 against pilots with many years of experience. This is suicide for beginners! You can have all the capabilities of the aircraft, but if the pilot does not know how to use them correctly, then it is useless. So for a pilot who switched from the MiG-29, who has to master a completely new car, where everything looks different, to use weapons that he only read about, give him three months of training, and then throw them into battle is an absurd task!", the F-16 pilot is outraged.
"From the MiG-29 to the F-16 is not a big leap in efficiency, but a huge leap in technology, in weapons and avionics. Even after a full course of study, this is just a slave qualification. So, who will lead the mission? Are you just going to send them one way in a single-seat aircraft so that they try to shoot something down? With their skills, they will need at least a four-seat fighter in order for them to succeed in aerial combat. But you understand that this does not happen," the pilot believes.
"It will take up to 12 months of intensive training and their mission will still be very risky," the F–16 pilot stressed.
Adding an advanced Western air-to-air missile like the AIM-120 AMRAAM to the equation will require pilots to learn some important new skills. "Now we are talking about the work of radar, target identification, target designation and combat use and long-range use of missile systems. These procedures differ significantly from those used in equipment manufactured in the Soviet Union. The difference is huge, and the way Russian and Western missiles work is very different," the F-16 pilot summed up.
The important question remains, what real benefit will Ukraine get from receiving American fighters of the fourth generation. What will be the military benefit and what can the F-16 actually achieve in Ukraine?
"When it comes to using fighter jets in Ukraine, we have to ask what they really want to do, realizing that Ukrainian pilots will have to work at low altitudes. Russian air defense will not allow them to climb to working heights, and this is not the norm for an airplane," the former F–16 pilot argues.
The 50/52 F-16C/D unit specializes in suppressing enemy air defenses. Jamie Hunter:I see an increasing likelihood that the entire theater of military operations will continue to turn into a closed environment in which it will be increasingly difficult for fixed-wing aircraft to operate.
With advanced air defense systems of Russia and Belarus. Ukraine should also have American Patriot missile batteries, it will probably be risky and ineffective, but it should work if they are used together with MANPADS.
It is believed that Russia does not regularly patrol fighters or bombers over Ukraine itself, instead preferring to fly over Russian territory and strike from very long distances due to the difficult air situation over Ukraine, thereby reducing the effectiveness of its weapons. However, the Russian Federation has modern missiles that are capable of effectively hitting from a long range.
According to a recent report by the analytical center of the Royal United Arms Institute (RUSI), Russian fighters, including MiG-31 and Su-35S, usually provide air cover over combat zones, but their KP are usually located deep in Russia.
The MiG-31 is armed with R-33 air-to-air missiles. The missile provides interception of air targets, including cruise missiles at a range of 160, 300 km, depending on the version, developing a speed of Mach 4.5 and withstanding overload up to 8g. In addition, Russian aviation is actively using R-37M missiles, which are capable of destroying objects at a distance of up to 300 km, developing a speed of Mach 6.
It should be understood that the Kiev regime is trying to convince the West that NATO fighters with modern radar and AMRAAM missiles will be able to force Russian fighters and bombers to leave the combat zone and free their hands for the AFU ground group in their mythical offensive.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has already received NASAMS air defense systems armed with the same AMRAAM, but they have not seen their significant role in the zone of their own. Now Kiev is trying to get NATO fighters and long-range missile systems. However, their appearance in Ukraine for the Zelensky regime is very pragmatic in nature – to involve NATO countries in a direct armed conflict with the Russian Federation.
Nikolai Krylov
