Washington is about to give the green light. The White House announced on Friday, May 19, that Joe Biden said he was ready to authorize other countries to supply Ukraine with F-16s, American-made combat aircraft. In February, the Ukrainian Air Force said kyiv needed 200 multirole fighter jets to defend its airspace. Four months later, Washington acceded to the request of the Ukrainian president who hailed a “historic” decision. Joe Biden could formalize the delivery of these fighters during the G7 summit which is held until Sunday May 21 in Hiroshima, Japan, and in which Volodymyr Zelensky participates. “It’s a strong message sent to Moscow,” General Jérôme Pellistrandi told L’Express.
If the Ukrainian president asks his Western allies to provide him with F-16s, it is because they are considered reliable and versatile aircraft. Their advantages: speed and lightness. They can reach a speed of 2,300 km/h, with a range approaching 3,890 km. “These aircraft belong to the fourth generation of combat aircraft. If the Americans put them into service in the 80s, they have been constantly modernized”, presents General Jérôme Pellistrandi. Thanks to these updates, the F-16 can operate at night and in bad weather. Manufactured by the American security and defense leader, Lockheed Martin, the F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft represents 4,500 models built, including 2,282 in service, or 16% of the combat fleet. world.
Moreover, these hunters have already proven themselves in previous conflicts, whether in the Balkans or during the Gulf War in 1991. “Today, it is in combat aviation, what the Leopard is on the tank in Europe”, summarizes Jérôme Pellistrandi. Another advantage is that these machines are considered cheap, “twice as expensive as more modern aircraft”. Added to this is a windfall effect, since some of the F-16s are being replaced for the American F-35s in many European countries. Part of the fleet is therefore available and ready to be transferred. For example, Romania recently decided to part with its Soviet fighter jets to recover F-16s from Portugal.
Towards a more “air” war?
“A combat aircraft is a firing platform. The main interest of these F-16 planes for the Ukrainians is that they can serve as a platform for a whole bunch of modern, precise long-range munitions”, underlines Michel Goya, former colonel of the navy troops. The F-16 is also capable of more than the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29, a Soviet air supremacy fighter aircraft developed in the early 1970s. available to Ukrainians. They are more versatile, which turns out to be an asset in the Ukrainian conflict, insists Jean-Christophe Noël, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations and former fighter pilot: “The F-16 aircraft is capable of fire high-performance weaponry.It can perform defense missions and offensive missions.
While Ukraine is regularly hit by Russian missiles, these fighters will “participate in the defense of major cities, but also that of the front”, underlines the specialist. In other words, they would have a dual function: hitting ground targets, such as tanks or logistics depots, and keeping Russian fighter jets away from combat zones. Could the arrival of F-16s in Ukrainian skies change the nature of the conflict? “The war could take a more aerial turn. It would be like going from the First World War to the Second World War”, answers Jean-Christophe Noël. To achieve such a result would require a significant amount of F-16 aircraft.
“The heavier F-16s cannot land and take off from roads”
However, the generals are not unanimous on the changes made by the F-16 at this stage of the war. For Michel Goya, these devices will have difficulty moving in the sky. “If the Ukrainian air force has been able to survive, it is because its rather light aircraft have been able to hide. The heavier F-16s cannot land and take off from roads. Dependent on bases, they are more vulnerable to Russian missile strikes”, he explains, before adding: “The Ukrainian sky is dangerous for the planes of both sides as the density of surface-to-air weapons and air-to-air missiles (Russian) is important. The ground can also be hit. All this makes it difficult to use aircraft and reduces their effectiveness.”
Finally, these F-16s should not arrive in the next few days, while the Ukrainian counter-offensive is preparing. For General Jérôme Pellistrandi, “it does not change anything for the offensive. Ukraine cannot wait for the planes to be delivered”. If available now, it will take four months to train the already experienced Ukrainian pilots, according to the US executive. “The most complex thing is not learning to fly the plane, but using it in combat, to attack targets on the ground,” he says. Apart from training, there is also a whole logistics that must be put in place. And after ? Michel Goya believes that these machines are not able to change the face of the war, “they are far from being decisive, it is less important than hundreds of battle tanks”. Answer in several weeks.