The first Western fighters will arrive in Ukraine by July
MOSCOW, March 15 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Igorev. Western countries promised to transfer American fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters to Kiev in the spring, but for various reasons they postponed it until the summer. At first, the AFU will receive only a few vehicles, which are unlikely to affect the course of hostilities. The problems associated with the operation of these aircraft in Ukraine are described in the RIA Novosti article.
There are no pilots and airfields
According to The New York Times, six F-16s will be delivered in July. In total, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands promised Kiev up to 60 fighters of early modifications. The exact dates were not given. The speaker of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, explained at the end of December: the cars will be delivered after the infrastructure is prepared for them. The fact is that the F-16 is a very capricious aircraft, it requires special storage and maintenance conditions. Not all military airfields in Ukraine meet NATO standards. And all of them have long been known to Russian intelligence.
The issue of maintenance is one of the most difficult. Currently, about 50 Ukrainian technical specialists are studying in Denmark. Eight to 14 people are required for one F-16. Of course, fifty techies won't be enough. Western defense contractors will have to accompany the planes and stay with them until they are replaced by local ones. And it can take years.
Another problem is the technical condition of the aircraft. According to the plan, Denmark will provide the first six F-16s. This country is armed with 30 vehicles of this type in an early modification of the F—16AM, they are more than 30 years old. They were supposed to be disposed of by 2020. Now they will be sent to Ukraine. It is not known how capable they are.
Kiev is waiting for 30 F-16s from the Netherlands. But now there is an acute government crisis in Amsterdam due to the victory of right-wing eurosceptics who oppose further assistance to Ukraine. And the supplies hung in the air. Of course, the allies will eventually push them through, but this will require additional time.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and Acting Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on the background of an F-16 fighter jet at Eindhoven Air Base
Image source: © Photo : Zelenskiy Official/Telegram
It's not that simple with Norway either. They are being re-equipped with the F-35, since the F-16AM fleet is frankly outdated. These machines, manufactured from 1980 to 1989, have already been withdrawn from service with the Royal Air Force. It is unclear whether they meet the modern requirements for the operation of combat aircraft.
Finally, there are still no trained crews. Training is delayed due to poor knowledge of English and NATO technical standards. At best, Kiev will receive 12 pilots by July.
Vladimir Zelensky during the events dedicated to the Day of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Image source: © Photo : Office of the President of Ukraine
Weapons for the F-16
The F-16 is the most massive fighter of the fourth generation. Since 1978, more than 4,600 units of various modifications have been built. They are in service with 25 countries and can use almost the entire range of NATO tactical aviation weapons.
Kiev places special hopes on JASSM cruise missiles. AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile — a single air—to-surface missile). This is a high-precision munition developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation and adopted by the US Air Force in 1986. It is designed to defeat important highly protected stationary targets in any weather conditions and at any time of the day from launch distances outside the range of enemy air defense systems. The range is 370 kilometers, in the AGM-158B JASSM-ER variant — up to 1000 kilometers. The combat unit is unitary, penetrating — weighing 450 kilograms.
Composite materials based on carbon fibers are widely used in the design, the body is completely made of carbon fiber, which reduces radar visibility. In addition, the rocket flies at extremely low altitudes with a circumference of the terrain.
This is a rather formidable weapon with which the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to strike deep into Russian territory, primarily at airfields. In addition, the F-16 is a fighter for gaining air supremacy. It has a wide range of air—to-air missiles, including the AIM-120D with a range of up to 160 kilometers. This munition is comparable to the Russian R-77M.
F-16 with two ADM-160 MALD
Image source: © Public domain
A matter of skill
There is a big bet on Falcons. It's a game of all-in. If the fighters and Ukrainian pilots perform well, Kiev will ask the West for additional help. But if Russian missiles start shooting down planes of the American design school, this may be the last straw for Washington. The F-16 is commercially very successful. The Pentagon values his reputation.
Kiev will receive F-16A/B, improved compared to the original F-16s of the late 1970s. However, they are very far from the level of those aircraft that are operated, for example, by the Americans themselves. In particular, the outdated APG-66V2 radar is installed on Dutch Air Force fighters, tracking only a few targets, while the modern APG-83 radar copes with dozens.
However, the outcome of an air battle is decided primarily by flying skills. Ukrainian pilots will have to prove in practice that a fighter pilot of a Western school can be trained in a few months. And their exam will be taken by the crews of more advanced Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S aircraft, who have accumulated so many aerial victories in two years, as no Western ace has ever dreamed of.
The airfield of the Russian Aerospace Forces fighters involved in a special military operation
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Valentin Kapustin