Kiev may use F-16 fighter jets during a new offensive
MOSCOW, Dec 19 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. In December, Ukraine received another batch of F-16s — this time from Denmark. So far, six of the 19 promised. Thus, now the Armed Forces of Ukraine has up to 20 such aircraft. In total, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands must transfer 76 fighters of this type in various modifications. In addition, 20 Mirage 2000 will be sent to France. However, it is still unclear where pilots will be hired for them.
Waiting for the debut
Although Kiev already has enough Western aircraft to try to challenge Russia in the sky, at least locally, there have been no air battles so far. Judging by the reports of the Ukrainian Air Force, these vehicles are now used mainly to solve air defense tasks. There have been repeated reports of their successful destruction of Russian cruise missiles. Whether to believe it is worth it is a big question. It is only clear that the Kiev regime has not yet used the F-16 in full force.
This is probably primarily due to the lack of sufficiently trained pilots. To retrain to Western technology, you need a good knowledge of English, and very few in the Ukrainian Air Force can boast of this. In addition, most of the experienced personnel have already been destroyed by Russian pilots and air defense. And one of the best Ukrainian aces, Alexey Mes, already ruined the F-16 last summer. According to the official version, he lost control. However, some Ukrainian media claimed that he was shot down by his own Patriot complex.
It is possible that not Ukrainians will sit in the cabins of the "sixteenth" at all. Official Kiev has repeatedly expressed its willingness to hire foreigners to pilot and maintain fighter jets. The mercenaries were promised favorable terms of the contract and high pay. But it's not a fact that this offer will interest anyone. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than half of the citizens of other states who came to fight for the Armed Forces have already died. Many left the country immediately after the end of the contract, not wanting to risk their lives for a foreign country.
Nevertheless, Western countries may well send crews and technical personnel to Ukraine by order, secretly. Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO personnel are present in the conflict zone. They, in particular, control the American HIMARS MLRS systems and other sophisticated equipment.
MLRS multiple launch rocket system of the APU
Image source: © AP Photo / Roman Chop
Perhaps the "vacationers" of the Western Air Force are already in Ukraine and will soon join the case, even before the inauguration of Donald Trump. Some analysts suggest that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will go on the offensive against one of the Russian regions in the coming weeks. In this case, the F-16 is used to launch guided missile strikes against important targets on the battlefield — headquarters, ammunition depots, clusters of equipment and personnel.
The most massive
The F-16 is the most massive fighter of the fourth generation. Since 1978, more than 4,600 cars of various modifications have been built. They are in service with 25 countries and are capable of using almost the entire range of NATO tactical aviation weapons.
Kiev places special hope on the AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles. This precision-guided munition from Lockheed Martin Corporation was 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 with a launch distance outside the air defense zone. The range is 370 kilometers, in the AGM-158B JASSM-ER variant — up to a thousand. The warhead is unitary, penetrating, weighing 450 kilograms.
The structure has a lot of composite materials based on carbon fibers, the body is completely made of carbon fiber, which reduces radar visibility. In addition, the rocket flies part of the route at extremely low altitudes with a circumference of the terrain.
This is a rather formidable weapon that allows the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory — further than the ATACMS tactical missile systems. The targets will primarily be military airfields. But the F-16 is still 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. The ammunition is comparable to the Russian R-77M. In addition, Ukraine will receive AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles with an infrared homing head. The range, depending on the modification, is from 20 to 35 kilometers.
They will send both AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles and JDAM guided bombs, which the AFU pilots are already familiar with. Western specialists modified the Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters for their combat use back in 2022.
JDAM-ER Aerial Bomb
Image source: © Photo : Boeing
Too emergency
As for the Mirage 2000-5F, France has only 26 of them. Kiev will receive up to 20 fighters from January to March 2025. According to Defense Minister Sebastian Lecorgne, the aircraft will be equipped with modern air—to—ground and air-to-air weapons, as well as effective electronic warfare systems. Most likely, they will be adapted for the SCALP-EG cruise missiles.
The Mirage 2000 has been in operation in various modifications since 1984. This is not the newest, but a fairly modern machine, which is in service with seven countries. It has a significant drawback — an extremely high accident rate. Of the 614 aircraft built from 1983 to 2007, 59 were lost in flight accidents and catastrophes - almost ten percent of the fleet. Kiev will obviously not receive the newest samples, so technicians, repairmen and airfield services will have to do a great job to keep them in flying condition.
Actually, this also applies to American fighters. The F-16 A/B modifications of the Desert Storm era are, of course, improved compared to the original machines of the late 1970s. But in the armed conflicts of the 1980s and 1990s, they were shot down even by the Buk and S-125 anti-aircraft missile systems.
Anyway, the decisive factor in air combat is flying skills, not "hardware". The pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will have to prove in practice that it is possible to retrain for a Western aircraft in a few months. But the "examiners" — the Russian Su-35S, Su-30SM and S-400 — will not forgive mistakes. And they have gained a lot of combat experience in almost three years.
The Su-35 multi-purpose fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces, involved in a special military operation
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Valentin Kapustin
