Ukrainian Air Force to get 4 Squadrons Of F-16s.
Ex-Belgian jets boost future F-16 fleet to 85. Gen. Serhii Golubtsov, commander of the Ukrainian air force has says four operational squadrons of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to have any chance of controlling the air over a single sector of the 700-mile front line of wider war by Russia. That’s enough jets to sustain the Ukrainians’ F-16 training unit in Romania—currently flying 18 ex-Dutch F-16s—while also equipping the equivalent of four squadrons each with 16 jets. The three additional planes would presumably be in reserve to replace the inevitable combat losses.
The 85 front-line jets—the equivalent of a U.S. Air wing can achieve local air superiority, albeit temporarily. To gut plan an operation from A to Z, I think it is worth talking about at least a squadron, at least 12 to 16 planes,” Golubtsov explained. “If it at least three to four squadrons, I think that in a separate direction we will be able to gain superiority in the air.”
The 1980s-vintage F-16s—from Norwegian, Dutch, Danish and Belgian air forces upgraded to common standard in the late 1990s and early 2000s—have modern radars and are compatible with a wide array of precision munitions and electronic jammers anti-radar missiles and satellite-guided glide bombs, the 12-ton F-16s could suppress Russian air defenses and strike Russian supply lines.
Armed with AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, the fighters could “force the enemy to completely abandon the strikes they are currently making in a certain area,” Golubtsov said.
The general was referring to Russia’s escalating glide-bombing campaign. Since mid-2023, Russian air force Sukhoi Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 fighters—each hauling as many as four KAB glide bombs—have been pummeling Ukrainian positions and cities from as far as 40 miles away with as many as 3,000 bombs a month.
A single KAB might weigh more than a ton and strike within tens of yards of its aim point. “These bombs completely destroy any position,” wrote Egor Sugar, a trooper with the Ukrainian army’s 3rd Assault Brigade. “All buildings and structures simply turn into a pit.”
The KAB glide-bombs are a “miracle weapon” for the Russians, Ukrainian Deep State noted back in March. And right now, the Ukrainians have “practically no countermeasures.” The Ukrainian air force’s 75 or so existing ex-Soviet fighters lack modern radars and air-to-air missiles; the air force’s surface-to-air missile batteries are too few in number to protect every city and troop concentration.
F-16s missiles target Russian glide bombers from as far as 100 miles, that’s only possible with latest teefarthest-flying
AIM-120 missiles. Old AIM-120B ranges just 30 miles; the new AIM-120D boasts an impressive range in excess of 100 miles.
Pentagon hasn’t specified what variants AIM-120 be given to Ukraine to Ukrainian air forces, but confirmed AIM-120D is on the list. “The United States will supply Ukraine with AMRAAM aircraft missiles with a range of 160 to 180 kilometers,” Yuriy Inhat, a Ukrainian air force spokesperson, said last year. 180 kilometers is 112 miles.
The four squadrons of F-16s could balance power over the front line back in Ukraine’s favor—but it won’t happen all at once. The F-16s are set to arrive in small batches
over a period of years as more of the tt’s taken more than a year intensive diplomacy between Ukrainian, Norwegian, Dutch, Danish and Belgian officials, but Golubtsov is finally getting his four squadrons.
Belgium says to donate 30 surplus F-16s—boosting to 85 in total number to Ukraine should receive starting this summer as more Ukrainian pilots complete their training.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/20...ting-them/
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