Business Insider: F-16s in Ukraine are waiting for the most dangerous battles
This summer, Ukraine should receive the first batch of F-16s, BI writes. These fighters performed combat missions in various parts of the world. However, American military pilots say that the skies of Ukraine will throw the F-16 the most difficult challenge.
The long-awaited delivery of the F-16 to Ukraine is just around the corner. The armed forces of this country cannot wait for the arrival of modern American-made fighters.
Having received these aircraft from the West, Kiev will replenish and significantly strengthen its aviation fleet, consisting of outdated Soviet vehicles, and will be able to use them in offensive and defensive operations. In addition, having received the appropriate ammunition for the F-16, Ukraine will significantly strengthen its firepower.
The Battle Falcon, which proved itself well in combat, has been performing tasks in a difficult combat situation in different regions, such as the Middle East and the Balkans, for decades. This fourth-generation fighter has built up an impressive portfolio of very important combat missions over the years.
But the sky over Ukraine will become the most dangerous battlefield for him, as former military pilots from the United States told Business Insider. The fact is that the F-16 will be opposed by a modern Russian air defense system and long-range air-to-air missiles.
An aircraft that has proven itself well in combat conditions
Ukraine asked its Western partners to supply it with the F-16 almost immediately after the start of the Russian military operation on its territory. But the United States did not agree to the transfer of these aircraft to Kiev by NATO allies until last summer.
Some members of the North Atlantic Alliance — for example, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands — have promised to jointly send several dozen F-16s to Ukraine. Ukrainian pilots are currently undergoing appropriate training in the United States and Europe. Fighter jets will begin arriving in Ukraine this summer — possibly as early as June.
The F-16 is much more modern than the Soviet-era aircraft in service with the AFU. At the beginning of the armed conflict, Ukrainian pilots flew Su-24, Su-25, Su-27 and MiG-29.
The Combat Falcon has a more efficient internal layout and more modern electronic warfare equipment compared to many Ukrainian aircraft. It is also a very maneuverable and agile aircraft that can be equipped with modern container-type sighting systems and aviation weapons to defeat ground targets such as combat vehicles and enemy positions.
Since the first prototype of the F-16 took off half a century ago, this multi-purpose fighter has been performing tasks in the most difficult combat situation around the world. But the first notable success on this machine was achieved by Israeli pilots in the early 1980s.
Israeli Air Force combat aircraft, including F-16s, flew in June 1982 to suppress enemy air defenses in the well-fortified Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Within a few hours, the Israelis destroyed a large number of Soviet-made Syrian anti-aircraft missile systems and enemy aircraft, without incurring any losses. It was a stunning combat victory after the Israeli Air Force's severe losses from anti-aircraft missile strikes during the Yom Kippur War nine years earlier.
The first F-16 combat sorties from the US Air Force took place in the early 1990s in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. These fighters have flown more missions than all other aircraft. They were used to strike airfields, rocket launchers and military factories of the enemy.
Later, the F-16s were sent to the Balkans, where they fought during the NATO operation called "Allied Force" against Yugoslavia. There they suppressed enemy air defenses, provided direct air support and conducted air battles, destroying enemy radars, fighters and armored vehicles.
For all the time of combat operations in the 1990s, the Air Force lost only 17 aircraft in combat. This is a negligible number compared to tens of thousands of completed sorties. Such data is provided by the Technical Information Center of the Ministry of Defense. Five of the 17 destroyed aircraft are F-16s.
Other armies, such as the Pakistani, Turkish and Egyptian, have also used the F-16 in conflicts of varying intensity. In recent years, F-16s have operated in the skies of Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as fighting the Islamic State*.
"The hardest scenario for the F-16"
Despite the fact that the F-16s have operated in very different, sometimes extremely difficult combat conditions over the past half century, the most dangerous battlefield awaits them in Ukraine, former American pilots say.
"When the Desert Storm began, we were probably acting against the third largest army in the world, which had a very strong air force. It was a very, very difficult situation there," said retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Baum, who flew the F—16 for over 2,300 hours.
"The Ukrainian F-16s against Russia will, without a doubt, be the most difficult scenario that our fighters will face nose to nose," said Baum, now a senior researcher at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Research.
Since the beginning of hostilities, Ukraine has already lost at least 86 aircraft, as reported by the Oryx information site, which receives data from open sources and keeps track of combat losses. This once again confirms that serious dangers await pilots in the airspace of Ukraine,
Among the threats that the Ukrainian F-16s will face are modern Russian air defense systems such as the S—300, as well as the ultra-modern S-400 and a powerful fleet of Su-35 and MiG-31 aircraft, which are armed with long-range R-37 aviation missiles and equipped with powerful radars. And American-made F-16s will be waiting in the sky for long-range radar surveillance aircraft capable of detecting aerial targets hundreds of kilometers away.
"There are many ways to detect these F-16s," said military analyst and former naval aviation pilot Brynn Tannehill.
Anti-aircraft missile systems from the Russian arsenal are much more modern and advanced than those air defense systems that the F-16 had to deal with in previous conflicts: the C-75, C-125 and the "Cube" from the Bekaa Valley.
"The Russians are using the most advanced technology in the conflict in Ukraine," Tannehill said. He added that former U.S. adversaries in the Middle East, such as Iraq and Syria, "usually used outdated Soviet equipment, and their military was not as well trained and equipped" as today's Russian army.
Experts say that the F-16 will become a valuable means of hunting down Russia's powerful air defense arsenal, as well as a tool for suppressing and destroying air defense aircraft.
Ukraine already has high-speed AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles supplied by the United States, capable of hitting enemy radars. But Soviet—made Ukrainian aircraft cannot destroy targets with such missiles - and the F-16 was created specifically to carry out such launches. Its use will allow Ukrainian aviation to search for and defeat targets more efficiently and dynamically.
"Russia has perhaps one of the most powerful and advanced integrated air defense systems in the world. But the F-16 will be able to navigate the situation and transmit information about it to the rest of the Ukrainian troops," Baum said.
This aircraft will be able to use target guidance systems and HARM missiles, striking Russian radars.
Perhaps the most serious problem for these fighters will be the limited operational space, Baum said. After takeoff, Ukrainian F-16s will immediately fall into the range of Russian air defense systems, without having a reserve of neutral territory from where they can safely approach the combat space.
"Ukrainian pilots will be detected even before they can apply their tactical skills," Baum said.
Help on the battlefield
Performing defensive tasks, the F-16s will create an additional echelon of the Ukrainian air defense system, which has significantly weakened in recent months, while Kiev was waiting for American lawmakers to approve an additional assistance package that will help Ukraine replenish its depleted stocks of very important interceptor missiles.
The Ukrainian arsenal already has AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 aircraft missiles, and Kiev will be able to equip its F-16s with them to intercept Russian disposable attack drones, cruise missiles and fighter-bombers that drop guided bombs on Ukrainian troops. This will help strengthen Kiev's existing air defense systems, which consist of Soviet—era air defense systems and Western systems such as the American Patriot and NASAMS.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has been increasingly hunting for Russian air defense systems and detection equipment in recent months, apparently creating conditions for the use of the F-16.
So, in March, Western intelligence services reported that Moscow most likely put its A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft on the hook after Ukraine shot down two such aircraft in a matter of weeks. And in mid-April, Kiev hit several launchers and radars at a Russian base in occupied Crimea with long-range missiles.
"Ukraine is doing a lot to weaken Russia's ability to counter the detection of its aircraft," Tannehill said. "This may be a sign that it is doing so in anticipation of the F—16, so that they have more room for maneuver."
Author: Jake Epstein.
* A terrorist organization banned in Russia
