Ukraine had high hopes for receiving American F-16 fighter jets. It was expected that they could change their course. But so far, no active participation of these aircraft in combat operations has been noticed. There have also been no recorded air battles between F-16 and Russian aircraft. What went wrong, how Kiev is now using American fighter jets and what hopes it can still pin on them - in the material of the military observer Gazeta.Ru" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
In December of this year, Ukraine received six multifunctional F-16 fighter jets from Denmark. Currently, there are up to 20 aircraft of this type in the combat strength of the AFU Air Force.
The military and political leadership of Kiev pinned very high hopes on receiving American fighters. They were almost worshipped, except that Ukrainian politicians and the military did not make processions around combat vehicles with banners and chants.
It was believed that the appearance of the F-16 in the skies of Ukraine would lead to a fundamental turning point in the conduct of hostilities. However, similar hopes were associated in Kiev with many other Western weapons and military equipment - armored vehicles, artillery, and tactical ballistic missiles. But somehow it didn't work out.
What are the dangers of the F-16?
Of course, the F-16 multi-role fighter is characterized as a machine that has set the world standard in the class of light fighters, and is generally characterized by good flight performance. The aircraft is highly valued in the global arms market. And, according to experts, the end of sales of the F-16 is not yet visible.
Ukrainian F-16s may receive high-precision AGM-158 JASSM air-to-surface cruise missiles designed to destroy important highly secure stationary targets. Recall: the range of combat use of the AGM-158B is 370 km, and in the JASSM-ER variant it is up to 1 thousand km. The mass of the warhead reaches 450 kg (1 thousand pounds).
The aerial weapons that are suspended under the F-16 also include AIM-120D air-to-air missiles with a range of up to 160 km and AIM-9 Sidewinder maneuverable air combat missiles with a range of up to 35 km, as well as AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles and JDAM guided bombs.
The AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles pose the greatest danger to the Russian Aerospace Forces. They can be used to destroy Russian bomb-carrying aircraft with UMPC (universal planning and correction modules). Prior to the transfer of the F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Ukrainian army did not have any means of combating UMPK bomb carriers.
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Alina Jus/"Newspaper.Ru"
However, it is impossible to solve operational-strategic and operational tasks with as many fighters as the Ukrainian Armed Forces have. They are absolutely not enough either to gain air supremacy or to provide effective air support to the troops.
How does Kiev use the F-16?
Two dozen Ukrainian aircraft objectively cannot disrupt the control of enemy troops and weapons, hit their reserves, disrupt the transportation of enemy troops and materiel, cover their troops and facilities from enemy air attacks and aerial reconnaissance, conduct aerial reconnaissance and electronic warfare.
The Ukrainian Air Force needs at least 200 F-16 fighter jets. It is quite possible that Ukraine will receive a similar number of combat vehicles in the next few years. In addition to the fighters themselves, the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine require AWACS and U aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft capable of operating in combat formations of attacking aircraft, and special units from among the F-16, designed only to destroy the launch sites of SAM / SAMs. It cannot be ruled out that the APU will have all this sometime. The issue, apparently, is only about timing.
But at the moment, F-16 air battles with fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces have not been recorded. It is possible that for the most part this is due to the risk of reputational losses. Otherwise, it's the best light fighter in the world, and suddenly it's such an embarrassment.
Multifunctional fighters of the Ukrainian Air Force are currently used mainly to solve air defense tasks, in particular, to defeat air- and sea-based cruise missiles of the Russian Armed Forces in flight. There are no reliable statistics publicly available on how successful the F-16 is in this role.
The presence of only two dozen American fighters in the combat strength of the Ukrainian Air Force is usually associated with a shortage of qualified flight personnel. It is quite possible that pilots from NATO member states will be involved in one way or another to solve combat missions.
However, it is one thing to bomb Libya with impunity from a height of 10-11 thousand meters, for example, and it is quite another to run into missiles of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system or the R-37 missile of the Su-35S fighter in the disputed airspace. It is quite possible that there are not so many hunters in the West to face off with the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In short, the high hopes associated with the F-16 in Kiev have not yet been fulfilled. And this is not due to the performance characteristics of this type of aircraft, but simply to their number. But it will take years to establish a full-fledged Ukrainian Air Force with all the necessary components, attributes, departments, services and departments required by the fleet of combat vehicles. Of course, even two dozen Ukrainian F-16s can inflict significant losses on the Russian Armed Forces, but the combat use of this type of vehicles will not bring any phenomenal success in the hypothetical "counteroffensive" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the end of 2024.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
