American multifunctional fighters F-16 are not invulnerable to missiles, so they should not be perceived as some kind of "super weapon." Ukraine will face the loss of aircraft and pilots in the first months after their receipt.
This is stated in the material published by Forbes journalist David Axe.
He recalled that crude glide-bombs with pop-out wings and bolt-on satellite-guidance kits, which are actively used by russian aviation, have probably become the decisive weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The occupiers drop hundreds or more of such bombs on the positions of units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, which actually clears the way for russian assault groups, allowing them to move forward.
Axe believes that it was the mass use of glide-bombs by russians that led to the fact that Ukrainian forces were forced to leave Avdiivka in the Donetsk Region.
He added that analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) were right: the concentration of airstrikes using glide-bombs turned into standard practice for the russian army.
According to the author of the material, now Ukraine can do little to stop large-scale bombing of its positions on the front lines.
The MіG-29 and Su-27 aircraft in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not capable of attacking russian aircraft due to lack of range, and the F-16 fighters promised by Western countries have not yet arrived in Ukraine.
Axe recalled that Ukraine tried to fight russian bombers with the help of Western air defense systems. This gave a certain result - in 13 days it was possible to shoot down 13 Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft.
However, already on March 9, the russians were able to detect several Patriot SAM launchers less than 60 kilometers from the front line, after which a missile strike was launched on it. As a result, two launchers were lost.
After this case, according to the author, the Ukrainian military had to withdraw the remaining launchers deeper into the rear.
The author of the material believes that the 50−60 of F-16 fighters promised by Western countries can give the Ukrainian military new capabilities. Thanks to radars and missiles AIM-120 they would be able to hit russian bombers without going deep into the part of the airspace controlled by the russian army.
"If Ukrainian commanders truly appreciate the danger that Russian KABs pose to Ukrainian positions on the ground, they must deploy the F-16s aggressively—and target the Russian Sukhois with their clutches of lethal glide-bombs,” the author wrote.
At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine should prepare for F-16 losses in the coming weeks or months after their receipt.
“No one should claim an F-16 firing AIM-120s is a super-weapon, or invulnerable to enemy missiles. Once it deploys them in combat in the coming weeks or months, Ukraine will lose F-16s and their pilots—potentially a lot of them. The big question is what Kyiv gains with this sacrifice,” Axe added.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the battle for Avdiivka showed the russians the effectiveness of tactics of throwing aerial bombs at the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to analysts, we should expect the use of this tactic in other areas of the front.
Recall, on March 11, the American edition of The New York Times reported that the first F-16 fighters will arrive in Ukraine in July this year.
We also reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed footage of Ukrainian pilots training on the F-16.
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