Ukrainian Air Pressure officers have developed a wholly new clear sheet set of techniques to function F-16 fighter plane within the nation’s ongoing conflict effort towards Russia. Highlighting the need of this, F-16 pilots and different officers have just lately criticised the air fight techniques taught by NATO members as “unsuitable” for engagements with Russian forces, significantly singling out their restricted suitability to function in a theatre the place Russia fields a very dense and succesful ground-based air defence community. New guidelines of engagement have significantly careworn “low-altitude, terrain-hugging” flights and “decoy” techniques. The Ukrainian Air Pressure is confirmed to have misplaced a minimum of 4 F-16s, with focusing on by ground-based air defence programs broadly speculated by analysts to have been a main explanation for losses.
Commenting on the adjustments to operational techniques, a Ukrainain F-16 pilot reported: “Once we returned from coaching and confronted actuality, we discovered that the techniques taught overseas weren’t solely relevant to this conflict.” He identified that Western techniques are largely based mostly on previous conflicts the place air superiority was held, and didn’t adequately think about the extraordinarily dense air defence programs and threats from Russian fight aviation belongings. “We needed to sit down and rethink the right way to destroy cruise missiles, strike drones, and survive close to the entrance strains.” The F-16 lacks a comparably highly effective radar to Russian fight plane to have the ability to have interaction them at longer ranges, with the plane equipped to Ukraine not solely utilizing out of date Chilly Conflict period mechanically scanned array radars, but in addition carrying radars which can be solely round one quarter to 1 seventh the sizes of these carried by Russian fighters and interceptors respectively.
Offering additional perception, the pilot added that Russian Aerospace Forces Su-35 and Su-57 fighters and MiG-31 interceptors represent the principle aerial risk, and conduct fight air patrols at excessive altitudes, ready for Ukrainian fighters to take off. Consequently Ukrainian F-16s can’t function increased altitudes in step with NATO doctrine, and are compelled to undertake a “low-altitude flight” technique. Terrain masking has confirmed in a position to considerably cut back the effectiveness of Russian radar monitoring and missile seekers, as floor muddle interferes with Russian sensors and makes it tough for them to lock onto targets. This additionally makes it considerably harder for ground-based air defence programs to interact targets over lengthy distances. The vulnerability of Russian A-50 airborne warning and management programs within the theatre has additional contributed to Ukrainian fighters’ survivability on this regard.
The most recent report on the shift in F-16 operational techniques notably strongly corroborates with a report by Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov in November that Ukraine’s newly delivered Western fighter plane F-16 and Mirage 2000 had been compelled to function solely at low altitudes in airspace far behind the frontlines to keep away from being focused by Russian fighters, singling out the function of the Su-35 specifically. “The Su-35S has pushed enemy plane low, forcing them to fly at minimal altitudes and in rear areas. In the meantime, the Su-35S engages targets at distances of a whole lot of kilometres. That’s the reason enemy plane can’t strategy the frontlines to launch air-to-air missiles. This contains American F-16s and French-made Mirages,” he noticed. Though the Su-35 has considerably much less succesful past visible vary focusing on capabilities than the MiG-31BM and Su-57, the fighter sort is operated within the theatre in significantly better numbers.
Additional elaborating on the adjustments in techniques that had been adopted in response to prevailing threats, the Ukrainian F-16 pilot noticed that high-risk “decoy” techniques had additionally been developed. These noticed F-16s intentionally expose their positions to draw Russian plane to fireside missiles, thereby depleting the ammunition of the plane on patrol on the time, and thus permitting pleasant plane carrying precision-guided bombs to finish their bombing missions. In a single engagement, a formation of three F-16s efficiently compelled Russian plane to fireside from completely different instructions, which was key to permitting the assault plane to efficiently hit their targets and return safely. Ought to this assertion be appropriate, it might point out a deficiency in coaching requirements amongst Russian pilots as they expend ammunition participating past an efficient kill vary. The power of Ukrainian F-16s to take cowl behind the nation’s community of ground-based air defence programs nonetheless stays in query within the medium and long run, as these have been quickly depleted whereas replenishments from the Western world have met solely a fraction of demand.
Ukrainian sources have constantly warned that F-16s and French equipped Mirage 2000 fighters are wholly incapable of matching the capabilities of superior Russian fighters, with Ukrainian Air Pressure spokesman Yuri Ignat having noticed on June 3, 2025: “Sadly, at this time Russia has jets that see farther and missiles that fly farther. That’s even when in comparison with F-16s. In addition they have highly effective air defences, which work in tandem with aviation.” Ignat in March in contrast the F-16 to the Su-35 particularly stating: “The modifications that Ukraine has can’t compete one-on-one in an air battle. We’d like a complete strategy because the [Russian] Su-35 is a comparatively new jet… This contains ground-based air defence, digital warfare programs, and ideally, an airborne radar. Additionally essential are onboard radars for our plane and air-to-air missiles.”
