Since the onset of the Russia Ukraine war, the Kyiv government has been lobbying the Western governments to supply fighter aircraft.
In mid-December last year, a Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot who goes by the call sign Juice told The War Zone that Ukraine could do with any type of fourth-generation Western fighter such as the F/A-18 Hornet, JAS 39 Gripen and F-16. However, he singled out the F-16 as the most suitable.
Juice pointed out that the global availability of the F-16s and the fact that several of Ukraine’s regional neighbours operate the platform meant the airframes and spares of the Viper are available in more numbers.
Juice also highlighted the wide variety of options that the F-16 offers in terms of equipment, saying, “In the case of the F-16, you have a lot of options for different training programs, different electronic countermeasures, different engines, different everything, it’s like Lego.”
“It may be the most realistic choice for Ukraine, considering capability, availability, affordability, and most importantly, sustainability,” Juice further said.
Nevertheless, Juice views the AIM-120 AMRAAM as a more likely weapon, considering the Ukrainian forces are already using it as part of the NASAMS air defense system. Therefore the required logistics arrangements are pretty much in place already.
Furthermore, Juice also explained that hunting for Russian warplanes is not Ukraine’s top priority currently, as it will need a lot of resources.
“Our priority is to shoot down their attack platforms above the front lines… First, we need to cover our regions to cover our ground forces, and after that, we can try to have some fun with other fighter jets. It will be a great challenge. But still, new hardware means new tactics, new doctrine for all operations, and I hope all that will help us to succeed and that the Russians won’t feel comfortable even in their airspace,” Juice said.
That said, experts are not very convinced that the F-16s could turn the tables against Russia on their own.
Veteran Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot VK Thakur said in a tweet that the two 12 F-16 squadrons would have to operate together with US E-3 AWACS aircraft to make a difference.
“Without AWACS cover, Ukrainian F-16s will be cannon fodder for RuAF Su-30SM & Su-35 flying underground radar cover on 24×7 air dominance patrol over the frontline. The F-16s will be just another straw for Ukraine to clutch on in its terminal spiral down,” Thakur said.