January was a successful month for increasing military aid from Western partners. A number of important political events are expected in February – another Rammstein-style meeting will take place on February 14, and on the anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, Volodymyr Zelensky announced the holding of a Global Peace Summit at the UN headquarters. We hope that such large meetings of countries will be able to help Kyiv receive one of the most important aid packages – aviation to close the sky.

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Why F-16?

Currently, Ukraine uses four types of aircraft: two Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, a Su-25 attack aircraft and a Su-24 bomber. The F-16 is a multirole fighter capable of combining the functions of all four aircraft.

The spokesman of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ignat, has repeatedly commented on F-16 aircraft, emphasizing the versatility of the aircraft. According to him, it is the F-16 that can become part of the air defense system, which will be as effective as possible against the massive missile attacks of Russia.

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The military leadership notes that for such a large country as Ukraine, it is financially impossible to implement an air defense system using only ground-based systems. And the use of airplanes will make it possible to truly “close the sky” and be protected from any air threats.

The good reputation of the F-16 is confirmed not only by its long history, but also by the number of countries where it is the main part of aviation – 25 states keep the F-16 in service. This aircraft has the status of the most massive in the fourth generation, as of 2016, more than 2,500 units were in operation.

The history of the F-16 began in the 70s of the last century. The manufacturer General Dynamics won the competition with its prototype aircraft and after two years of testing in 1978 began to supply the first F-16s for service with the US Armed Forces. At the first demonstrations at international air shows, this aircraft received many favorable reviews and the first contracts for the supply of F-16s to the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway were concluded with the manufacturer.

According to the Ukrainian military, Western-style aviation is the pinnacle of high-tech weapons, and its role in the de-occupation of Ukrainian land is difficult to overestimate. And although there is no clear answer regarding the transfer of these planes, Ukrainian diplomacy is making maximum efforts in negotiations, and in the media, the next “Ramstein” was given the status of “aviation”.

Modifications and construction

The peculiarity of the history of the F-16 aircraft is that generations of various modifications are called blocks. For example, the first three modifications are called block 1, block 5 and block 10. The first serious modification of the design took place in the 80s in the 15th block of aircraft.

Currently, the most modern version of the aircraft belongs to the block 70/72, it entered service in five countries of the world. Bahrain became the first F-16 Block 70 customer in June 2018, Slovakia signed a letter of agreement for 14 Block 70 aircraft in December 2018, and Bulgaria and the US government are currently negotiating Bulgaria’s planned purchase of new F-16 Block 70 aircraft. that this generation is more export-oriented – the United States Air Force is transitioning to the fifth-generation F-35 fighter.

It should also be mentioned that since 1993, the company Lockheed Martin, already known to us, has been engaged in the production of these aircraft, which creates missiles for the Patriot installation as an example. The F-16 has demonstrated high efficiency over its almost fifty years of age and is therefore chosen as the main aircraft in many air forces for a reason. He has flown approximately 19.5 million flight hours and has at least 13 million sorties. In each generation, both single and double versions were made.

Using the example of the new version, we will consider the technical indicators of the aircraft. The F-16 is a multi-role fighter that can be used for both aerial combat and precision bombing. The aircraft is appreciated for its ease of operation, it is equipped with removable panels and hatches, and the structure combines various aluminum alloys, titanium, steel and carbon fiber.

The F-16 is a mid-wing monoplane with a single engine in the tail section of the fuselage. The new version of the aircraft impresses with the level of technology – the installed APG-83 AESA radar gives the F-16 the ability to target in any weather conditions and control the situation in the air thanks to digital maps.

The plane uses a ground collision avoidance system (Auto GCAS), which saves the life of the pilot and the plane itself. This system has already demonstrated its effectiveness after the US Air Force, when it began to be used in 2014.

The F-16 itself boasts a wide range of weapons that can be used. The aircraft has a built-in M61A1 gun with 511 rounds of ammunition and is equipped with cruise missiles of various classes.

For example, air-to-air missiles (AIM-7, 6xAIM-9, 6xAIM-120, AIM-132, Python 3, Python 4, Derby, Sky Flash, Magic 2), air-to-surface (6xAGM-65A/B/D/ G, AGM-45, 2xAGM-84, 4xAGM-88, AGM-154 JSOW, AGM-158 JASSM, Penguin Mk). Corrected, free-falling, and incendiary bombs can also be used.

You can see the F-16 in action on a video from the manufacturer:

Technical characteristics of the F-16:

Advantages and disadvantages

Having the words of Air Force Speaker Yuriy Ignat, it becomes clear that the transition to Western aviation is not an easy but necessary task for Ukraine. The first problems we will have to face are not only the high cost of aircraft and their maintenance, but also the training of the crew. And we are talking not only about pilots, but also about aviation engineers.

As the military explains, you can learn to fly an F-16 fairly quickly, but learning to effectively use all types of weapons will take a long time. The plane uses both cruise missiles and bombs, and in order to engage in air combat, the pilot must have sufficient training. Another task is facing the infrastructure – Ukrainian airfields must be ready to receive these planes and engage in their maintenance.

However, the transition to the F-16 guarantees highly reliable airspace protection, which must be built with a neighbor like Russia. The F-16 is ready for future upgrades and in the long run is probably the best solution to serve at least 40 years in our Air Force without the need for long-term structural repairs. According to the manufacturer, the latest series of F-16 will remain relevant until 2060.

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the NSDC, published a video on social networks in which he hinted that the “battle falcons” will still guard the Ukrainian skies. On January 24, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, announced the beginning of diplomatic work regarding the discussion of the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. We hope that the Western partners will not let us down and we will receive reliable protection from air threats even for future generations.