Wings of victory. Will F-16 be a weapon that breaks the course of war in Ukraine

The relevant arrangements were reached during the tour of President Vladimir Zelensky to Denmark and the Netherlands. According to Denmark Prime Minister Matte Frederixen, the first six F-16 fighters will arrive in Ukraine by the end of this year, in 2024-eight F-16, and five more in a year. Her Dutch colleague Mark Rutte did not specify how many US fighters could get Kiev, but noted that the country has 42 units of such aircraft.

It is also known that fighters will be transferred to Romania for Ukrainian pilots. At the same time, Euractiv writes that the F-16 issue from the Netherlands is not defined to the end. According to the newspaper, parliamentarians called on to discuss this issue, since it was not agreed before. The difficulty of this situation adds that in the fall of this year, an extraordinary parliamentary election should take place in the country.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexei Reznikov added the mystery to this situation. According to him, the first F-16 fighters will be able to obtain no earlier than 6-7 months. The term of transfer will depend on the time of training of Ukrainian specialists and infrastructure preparation. It is now known about the formation of the first group of Ukrainian pilots who are fluent in English and are fully ready to start fighter training.

Eight people came to it, 20 more were selected for language courses. It is reported that it is planned to prepare 32 Ukrainian pilots, which will form two squadrons in the future. According to the spokesman of the Air Force Yuri Ignat, three F-16 squadrons can change the course of war in Ukraine, that is, 48 ​​units, and eight squadrons will be enough to gain preference in the sky.

Military analyst Petro Chernyk notes that the nomenclature of weapons, which can use the F-16, will have a powerful impact on the line of fighting in Ukraine. If we can all fill the front line, then the promotion and liberation of the territories will be rapid. "This is, for a minute, about 105 units of weapons nomenclature that can be used.

For example, air-air-air-7, AIM-9, AIM-120, AIM-132, AIM-120 Amraam missiles, Air- Air- surface "-AGM-65, AGM-45, AGM-84, AGM-88, AGM-154, AGM-158 JASSM, corrected and cassette bombs," he says. Experts say that the use of the F-16 will make it possible to fully use the entire nomenclature of rocket and bombing weapons that Ukraine receives from Western partners. First of all, it is about JDAM/JDAM-ER and HARM.

Another important fact is the significant increase in air defense, including the front edge of the fighting line. It is about combating Russian shock helicopters that attack the columns of defense forces and at the same time remain in the zone of inaccessibility of anti-aircraft missile complexes. It should be understood that the F-16 is a platform whose capabilities depend on the equipment and the nomenclature of weapons.

"F-16 will allow us to reduce the potential of using shock helicopters and try to fight with Su-34 fighters. But there is one important nuance-it all depends not only on the fighters but also on the weapons they will use. We need hundreds of rockets and Thousands of heavy aircraft, including cassette, ”says Chernik. Focus has already said that the American F-16 Fighting Falcon is the most popular fighter in the world. It has several dozen countries in service.

The aircraft is not new, but has a modernization potential to fulfill tasks that meet the requirements of today. The fighter has modern radar equipment, which makes it possible to attack targets up to 1000 km. In addition, aviation suspensions and interfaces make it possible to place modern missiles "Earth-Air", "Air-Air".

Military expert Oleg Starikov notes that in addition to the preparation of pilots, there are a number of tasks that for some reason they try not to talk about - it is the training of service personnel and aerodrome infrastructure. It is necessary to teach not only pilots, but also engineering staff that will serve these planes. To understand, the term of preparation of pilots is four years, engineers - five, and technicians - three.

Even if you can miss something, you need to translate many instructions and documentation into Ukrainian. You need to add aerodrome provision, the F-16 requires the perfect state of folding strips and their cleanliness. For the latter use special technique. The issue of fuel fillers remains, because ours are not only suitable for their interfaces. It is worth mentioning the liaisons and weapons that rockets and airbags will make.

All this complex should be introduced into the combat management system, and then into the same system of the Armed Forces. "If we mention weapons, you need to decide with the place where it will be stored. There is its temperature and humidity, not to mention the safety of Russian rockets," he says. According to military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov, the preparation of sufficient pilots may end no earlier than 2025-2026, which is when the F-16 can be called a weapon of victory.

"We simply do not have enough pilots. The basic preparation is significantly different from the Soviet aircraft. Unless one of the veterans of the US Air Force suddenly mention its ancient Ukrainian roots," Focus Zhirokhov notes. Oleg Starikov reminds another task that you need to think in the General Staff of the Armed Forces. According to him, the F-16 is a light bomber-fighter, according to its TTH, it is almost identical to the Soviet Mig-29, but has more suspensions and interfaces for weapons.

This aircraft has relatively mediocre radar equipment, but works well with the aviation complex of radar detection and conduct (AWACS). This complex provides coordinates to defeat the goals without falling on its radars. In the case where the F-16 acts on its own, it needs a cover, F-15 fighters are used for this purpose. There is nothing to hear about their transmission.