Ukraine’s F-16s are now officially in the country and flying combat operations. President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in front of a pair of donated F-16AMs to mark the historic development for the Ukrainian Air Force and his country overall. We are also seeing our first glimpse of some of the stores the jets are equipped with. We first reported on the arrival of F-16s in Western Ukraine earlier this week.
In his speech, Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s allies — especially Denmark, The Netherlands, and the United States — that helped make this moment possible after years of negotiations and diplomatic and logistical hurdles. You can watch the video released by the Ukrainian government of Zelensky’s remarks below:
The road to receiving F-16s was indeed a long and winding one. From shortly after Russia’s all-out invasion began – and Ukraine showed it could hold much of it at bay, including retaining control of its skies over much of the country – the need for a Western 4th generation fighter and the employment of Western munitions and tactics was clear. The War Zone was among the first to make the case to begin training pilots and maintainers and the transition process away from Soviet-era jets to Western fighters.
The fact that this day has finally come is no doubt monumental for Ukraine, but, as we have stressed heavily in the past, it will be some time – likely a number of years – before the F-16s’ expansive capabilities can be fully unlocked.
It takes years for an F-16 pilot to mature into a fully capable mission leader, and the flow of new pilots will need to remain solid during this time, which has already become a major issue. The army of support personnel it will take to operate these jets somewhat independently will also take time to grow and foster. There is no shortcut here, this is just the way it is — experience is the key to fulfilling the F-16’s full potential. As such, the F-16s were never a silver bullet. What they are is a revolutionary upgrade in Ukraine’s air combat capabilities that will increasingly bring more potent weapons and tactics to the forefront of the conflict and for Ukraine’s general defense.
That doesn’t mean the F-16s are useless in the meantime. That’s hardly the case. As they expand their mission breadth, they can provide vital air defense across the territory Ukraine holds, hunting down drones and cruise missiles that threaten critical infrastructure and military capabilities located at every point within Ukraine’s borders. The fact that the F-16AMs were equipped with AIM-9Ms and AIM-120 AMRAAMs in the videos today underscores their initial air defense role. While they lack the capability provided by active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars that equip the most new-production modern fighters and are being back-fitted to many older F-16s, the jets can still be very valuable in this role. Even Ukraine’s MiG-29s served this purpose with a radar and avionics suite far inferior to what the F-16AMs have with their upgraded AN/APG-66 radars. You can read all about Ukrainian MiG-29s being used to counter drones in this past feature of ours.
The F-16s can also work to bring new standoff attack munitions into the fighter. Ukraine’s new fighters use NATO standard bus architecture that already accepts most air-launched weapons available in NATO’s inventory. Ukraine’s JDAM-ERs, GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, and ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoys (MALD) are already integrated with the F-16, for instance. More types of weapons, such as France’s Hammer, can be added with relative ease compared to rigging them to work with Soviet-era aircraft. This means we should see new weapons appear, especially those that can reach deep into Russian-held territory. You can read all about the munitions options that exist and are likely to equip Ukraine’s F-16s in our deep dive on this subject here.
As seen in the screen capture below, the Ukrainian pilots in the video are also wearing Joint Helmet Mounting Cueing Systems (JHMCS). While expected, this not only provides high off-boresight targeting of the AIM-9X, should the jets end up carrying that missile, but it also provides a major increase in situational awareness for pilots. Just the use of AIM-9 and AIM-120 in the air-to-air realm — they are already in service with the country on the ground — means that Ukraine has access to large NATO stocks for air-to-air missiles, instead of depending solely on a dwindling stockpile of Soviet-designed types.
Finally, and as TWZ expected, the F-16s now in Ukrainian hands are equipped with the Pylon Integrated Dispensing System Plus (PIDS+) systems, which may include the advanced Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon System Plus (ECIPS+) types, both of which are made by Terma in Denmark. These pylons are bolt-on self-defense systems that include missile approach warning sensors (MAWS) that provide near-spherical coverage for spotting incoming missile threats, as well as additional expendables (flares and chaff) dispensers. They can also provide radar warning and homing receiver capabilities, giving crews high-situational awareness of radar-based threats. The ECIPS+ doesn’t have the dispensers but does have North Grumman’s capable electronic warfare suite. These systems can integrate together with the F-16’s internal self-protection suite and it can leverage more advanced electronic warfare capabilities synergistically.
From our previous story on the system:
“Each PIDS+ pylon can only accept a maximum of two flare and chaff dispensers. They also feature variants of the AN/AAR-60 Missile Warning System, which has three separate warning sensors on each pylon.
The ECIPS pylons carry the three AN/AAR-60 sensors, but do not have the flare and chaff dispensers. Instead, they also have an AN/ALQ-162(V)6 high-band radio frequency countermeasures system from Northrop Grumman installed.
Typically, a Viper would carry one PIDS+ and one ECIPS+ to provide a mix of countermeasures capabilities. An aircraft with one of each would be carrying a complete array of six AN/AAR-60 warning sensors, an AN/ALQ-162(V)6 jammer, and three dispensers for expandable flares or chaff cartridges, just in those pylons.
Both types of pylons are also designed work with the AN/ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management System, another Terma product, found on various types of F-16 Vipers. The Danish company also offers systems to provide alerts to incoming threats. This includes options for visual alerts through a fixed display in the cockpit or the feed in the helmet-mounted Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), as well as various types of audio warnings, including through the Danish company’s own 3D in-cockpit surround-sound system.“
Altogether these enhanced pylons can greatly improve the situational awareness and survivability of the jets carrying it. They are so capable that the U.S. is obtaining similar pods for its F-16s. Danish and Dutch F-16s are equipped with this system, so it makes sense that they are now ported over to Ukraine. Based on the airborne intercept light on the left side of the cockpit, the jet shown with the Terma self-defense pod in the video is an ex-Danish example. Overall, this is a critical upgrade that is very well suited for F-16s operating anywhere near the highly complex air defense overlay Russia has deployed that reaches far across the front lines.
So there you have it. Nearly two and a half years after Russia began its blitz, Ukraine has now officially joined the F-16 club. The way forward will not be easy. Building up a skilled cadre of pilots and maintainers will be a major hurdle. But maybe above all else, keeping the F-16s intact while on the ground could be a real challenge as they are now Russia’s top targets. You can read more about some of the tactics that could be used to help in this regard in our recent report here.
Still, challenges aside, the arrival of F-16s wearing Ukrainian colors equates to a whole new level of weapons capability for the battle-weary Ukrainian Air Force.
Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com