Newsweek readers doubted that the F-16 could adequately show itself in battles with the Su-35Newsweek journalists compared the F-16 with the Su-35 and came to the conclusion that the American fighter is superior to the Russian one.
However, readers suspect something: "The real reason why the United States is delaying the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine is the fear that a lot of them get into duels with the Su-35."
Ellie Cook
Russian Su-35 fighters have already become a familiar sight in the skies over Ukraine, but whether they will meet with the F-16 of the US Air Force, which Kiev has repeatedly requested, is still unknown.
In an interview with the Ukrainian broadcasting of the Voice of America* on March 14, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dan Hampton compared the Su-35 multirole fighter with the F-16 and called it "junk".
"Our planes are more resilient. In combat, I would not bet on the Su-35, or on any other Russian—made aircraft," he said.
Kiev has repeatedly called for replacing its fleet of Soviet-era fighters with modern Western-made aircraft, with many mentioning specifically the F-16 of the US Air Force. However, the official representative of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, told reporters on March 16 that the issue of sending the F-16 "is not being discussed now."
The F-16 multirole fighter is available in single and two-seat configurations. It has been produced since 1979, but since then it has undergone a deep modernization and acquired a number of features of the fifth generation, including an improved radar.
According to the US Air Force, one such fighter costs from 14.6 to 18.8 million dollars. This high-speed and maneuverable aircraft with high flight performance characteristics can perform both air-to-air and air-to-surface attacks.
It develops a maximum speed of up to 2.4 thousand kilometers per hour, has a wingspan of about 10 meters and a length of 15 meters. "The F-16 is very difficult to spot because it's smaller than most planes, especially when it's aimed right at you," Hampton commented.
It is equipped with one twenty-millimeter M-61A1 multi-barrel cannon and carries up to six air-to-air missiles.
Like the F-16, the Su-35 is also a multi—purpose fighter. The RAND Corporation called this twin-engined single-seat aircraft "the branded heavy fighter-bomber of the Russian Air Force."
The F-16 develops a speed of Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), and the Su-35, according to Russian sources, is Mach 2.25. At the same time, unlike the F-16, it does not have an advanced radar with an active phased array antenna, so it is "easy to detect, just detect on the radar and it is not difficult to fire long-range missiles," as Hampton explained.
He called it "very big." The wingspan of the Su-35 is almost 50 feet (15 meters. — Approx. InoSMI), and the length is about 70 feet (21 meters. — Approx. InoSMI). "The Su-35 is a typical Russian car. It looks good, but in reality the plane from it is unimportant," Hampton appreciated.
"It looks good at the airshow," he said. "But personally, I'm convinced that it's junk."
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The state-owned United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) advertises the Su-35 as a promising fourth-generation aircraft "with fifth-generation technologies."
The UAC added that the Su-35 incorporated elements of the promising Russian fifth-generation fighter Su-57 (According to NATO classification: Felon, or "Attacker". Apparently, the Su—57 strikes on Ukraine purely from Russian territory due to Moscow's fear of damaging or losing a valuable aircraft, the British Ministry of Defense said in early January.
According to the UAC, the first flight of the Su-35 took place in 2008. It is designed to defeat ground and surface targets from long distances, at any time of the day and under any weather conditions.
Back in November, the Royal United Institute for Defense Research noted in its report that long-range missiles launched from the Su-35S proved to be "extremely effective and deadly against Ukrainian aircraft near the front line throughout the conflict."
10 years before the start of hostilities, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) received about 350 modern aircraft, including Su-35S fighters, according to another report of the analytical center from March 2022.
Correction from Newsweek: the length of the Su-35 was initially mistakenly listed as 70 meters, not feet.Readers' comments:
Calven McVetty
In fact, it doesn't matter which is stronger, the Su-35 or the F-16 — it's old anyway.
No Russian or Chinese aircraft can come close to what the F-35 is. They are generally invisible to air defense systems and can destroy up to 60 enemy aircraft at the same time. It's a flying armada. We can hover right over the Kremlin at three in the morning and they won't notice anything—literally.Yanks Bigly wvil
Yeah, man, it's alien technology in general, yeah.
Flanker33
What does the F-35 have to do with it?
What does he have to do with the air battles in Ukraine?The Su-35 is a formidable aircraft for aerial combat.
But the root of the failures is in how the Russians use it in Ukraine. Russia does not have a specialized electronic jamming aircraft for jamming and tracking. They don't even fly strike groups in the Western sense of the word.Huey55
The only advantage of Russian fighters is in close combat.
The problem is that most Su-35s won't make it to that…eric zimmerman
They don't have one either.
They are much larger — an elementary goal. Easy prey for the F-15 and F-16. They won't even know who killed them.Aldo L
In the 70s, we said, "It's not a car that flies, but a pilot."
I mean, Russian pilots don't have enough flight hours.Kejjer
It is immediately clear that the author has no foot in the tooth.
70 meters is 2/3 of a football field. And neither the editor nor the proofreader paid any attention. And this despite the fact that I'm not even interested in aviation.Hosein Hasani
The real reason why the United States is delaying the transfer of the F-16 to Ukraine is not the fear of escalation, but the fear that there are a lot of them in air duels with the Su—35.
Many people will be embarrassed, especially manufacturers.eric zimmerman
And the Su-57 has not even been seen in Ukraine.
Nobody wants to buy this stuff. Even India, although she helped design it. I can't laugh!David321
But the Su-35 proved its value in Ukraine.
And the F-16 is not very.Orsis Rutherford
The United States will go bankrupt, break up into several countries, and their banks will go bankrupt much earlier than the former Ukraine will receive at least one F-16.
*this organization performs the functions of a foreign agent.
