https://sputnikglobe.com/20230505/us-f-16s-in-ukraine-would-be-completely-outmatched-by-russias-s-400-air-defense-1110109419.html
US F-16s in Ukraine Would Be ‘Completely Outmatched’ by Russia's S-400 Air Defense
US F-16s in Ukraine Would Be ‘Completely Outmatched’ by Russia's S-400 Air Defense
Sputnik International
US-made F-16s in Ukraine would be completely outmatched by Russia's S-400 Air Defense," a US Air Force veteran was cited as saying in a media report.
2023-05-05T05:50+0000
2023-05-05T05:50+0000
2023-05-05T07:37+0000
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US-made F-16s have topped Kiev’s wish list since the start of the Ukraine crisis, but the fourth-generation planes "have no business in a modern-day battlefield", a US Air Force veteran was cited as saying in a media report.Lacking any stealth features, fighter jets such as the F-16, would be "completely outmatched in high-threat environments", John Venable, a former pilot, clarified.Russia’s advanced air-defense, with its S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, would easily outmaneuver the F-16's targeting systems, Venable argued. Furthermore, the S-400s would be able to target the fighter jets well before they position themselves to fire their load of around eight SDBs (Small Diameter Bomb), the senior research fellow for defense policy at The Heritage Foundation think-tank added."Giving Ukraine more MiG-29s will not help the battlefield. And even if we gave them modern F-16s - I would say more modern F-16s - it's not going to change or influence the battlefield in a year, much less in time for a spring offensive," he was quoted as saying, referring to the much-heralded Ukrainian “counteroffensive”.The US veteran reminisced about his days as an F-16 pilot in the Eighties and Nineties, arguing that at the time, his jets stood a fighting chance against SA-6 and SA-11 Soviet-era surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, especially when he was supported by HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) targeting systems."I had a fighting chance back then; today, there is no fighting chance [for the F-16s]", he added.Other western aviation analysts have echoed these assessments of F-16s, saying that if Kiev were ever to get them they “might not last very long”. It has been pointed out that General Dynamics’ multirole fighter aircraft needs specially prepared airbases and air strips - something Ukraine lacks, with the country's airfields “too short" and "austere" to allow for safe use of fully loaded F-16s.Back in January, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, was cited as saying that F-16s would be “another challenging system that would require training” so that Ukraine’s pilots could become proficient enough for using the planes in combat.In any case, so far the issue of sending American F-16s to the Kiev regime has been "off the table," with only NATO members Poland and Slovakia pledging some older MiG-29s with which Ukrainian pilots and mechanics are familiar. Speaking to an American broadcaster on 24 February 2023, US President Joe Biden said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't need F-16s now", adding that "there is no basis upon which there is a rationale" for doing this.On 3 May, Yuriy Ignat, official representative of Ukraine's Air Force, admitted that Western countries were reluctant, as yet, to deliver F-16s to Kiev. He added that some NATO member states have been on a waiting list to get such US fighter jets for years.Russia has repeatedly warned that the military aid the US and its allies are continuing to deliver to Kiev only prolongs the Ukrainian conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that NATO countries are “playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230427/american-f-16s-might-not-last-very-long-if-delivered-to-ukraine--1109869870.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20221224/russian-s-400s-iskanders-sent-to-belarus-will-boost-joint-air-defense--foreign-ministry-1105746024.html
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us-made f-16s, outmatched by russia's air defense, s-400, us fourth-generation planes to ukraine, russian s-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, no fighting chance for the f-16s
us-made f-16s, outmatched by russia's air defense, s-400, us fourth-generation planes to ukraine, russian s-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, no fighting chance for the f-16s
US F-16s in Ukraine Would Be ‘Completely Outmatched’ by Russia's S-400 Air Defense
05:50 GMT 05.05.2023 (Updated: 07:37 GMT 05.05.2023) Besides the billions of dollars of weapons the US and its allies have already supplied to Ukraine, the Kiev regime has been repeatedly clamoring for fighter jets, specifically, the US-made F-16s to replace the dwindling fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters.
US-made F-16s have topped Kiev’s wish list since the start of the Ukraine crisis, but the fourth-generation planes "
have no business in a modern-day battlefield", a US Air Force veteran was cited as saying in a media report.
Lacking any stealth features, fighter jets such as the F-16, would be "completely outmatched in high-threat environments", John Venable, a former pilot, clarified.
Russia’s advanced air-defense, with its
S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, would easily
outmaneuver the F-16's targeting systems, Venable argued. Furthermore, the S-400s would be able to target the fighter jets well before they position themselves to fire their load of around eight SDBs (Small Diameter Bomb), the senior research fellow for defense policy at The Heritage Foundation think-tank added.
"
Giving Ukraine more MiG-29s will not help the battlefield. And even if we gave them modern F-16s - I would say more modern F-16s - it's not going to change or influence the battlefield in a year, much less in time for a spring offensive," he was quoted as saying, referring to the much-heralded
Ukrainian “counteroffensive”.
The US veteran reminisced about his days as an F-16 pilot in the Eighties and Nineties, arguing that at the time, his jets stood a fighting chance against SA-6 and SA-11 Soviet-era surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, especially when he was supported by HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) targeting systems.
"There would've been a good possibility that I would've been shot down, but also at least an equal possibility that I could have made it to the target," Venable said, pointing out that since then, there had been what he referred to as a "whole leap in capabilities”.
"I had a fighting chance back then; today, there is no fighting chance [for the F-16s]", he added.
Other western aviation analysts have echoed these assessments of F-16s, saying that if Kiev were ever to get them they “might not last very long”. It has been pointed out that General Dynamics’ multirole fighter aircraft needs specially prepared airbases and air strips - something Ukraine lacks, with the country's airfields “too short" and "austere" to allow for safe use of fully loaded F-16s.
Back in January, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, was cited as saying that F-16s would be “another challenging system that would require training” so that Ukraine’s pilots could become proficient enough for using the planes in combat.
In any case, so far the issue of sending American F-16s to the Kiev regime has been "off the table," with only NATO members Poland and Slovakia pledging some older MiG-29s with which Ukrainian pilots and mechanics are familiar. Speaking to an American broadcaster on 24 February 2023, US President Joe Biden said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't need F-16s now", adding that "there is no basis upon which there is a rationale" for doing this.
On 3 May, Yuriy Ignat, official representative of Ukraine's Air Force, admitted that Western countries were reluctant, as yet, to deliver F-16s to Kiev. He added that some NATO member states have been on a waiting list to get such US fighter jets for years.
24 December 2022, 06:11 GMT
Russia has repeatedly warned that the military aid the US and its allies are continuing to deliver to Kiev only prolongs the Ukrainian conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that NATO countries are “playing with fire" by
supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces.
