Volodymyr Zelensky led a ceremony to officially present the first F-16 fighters transferred to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Official Statement: F-16s in Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/llTh7QQoy5
— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) August 4, 2024
As we learned a few days ago, a first batch of F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets is already operating on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine expects to receive around 80 F-16 fourth-generation multi-role fighters, supplied by its Western allies through the Air Force Capability Coalition, led by Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States.
With the arrival of the first F-16AMs supplied by its NATO allies, Zelenskyy announced that the Ukrainian Air Force begins its transition path to reach the standards of a Western Air Forces.
After hundreds of meetings and negotiations between Kiev and its allies in this war, which led to the implementation of an accelerated training program for pilots and technical personnel (starting with much needed English classes) and the preparation of bases and roads for their deployment, the conditions are now in place for the F-16s to arrive in Ukraine.
We are now in a new phase of development for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We have done a lot to transition the Ukrainian Air Force to a new aviation standard – Western combat aviation. From the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about… pic.twitter.com/z21yTU0Hjo
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 4, 2024
“I am proud of all our guys who are skillfully mastering these aircraft and have already started using them for our country. I thank our team for this result. I thank all the partners who are truly helping with the F-16s, and the first countries that accepted our request for aircraft – Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States, – and all our partners, – we value your support”., the Ukrainian president acknowledged during his speech.
The first Ukrainian F-16s came from Denmark
In the audiovisual material released by the Ukrainian government, a key detail that reveals the provenance of the first F-16s can be seen: the Pylon Integrated Dispensing System (PIDS+). Developed by the Danish company Terma, this system, along with the Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon System (ECIPS), is installed on the aircraft’s wing stations 3 and/or 7. Its main function is to protect the F-16 from enemy missiles by dispersing chaff and flares, electronic countermeasures that confuse missile guidance systems. The chaff consists of small metallic particles that create false radar signals, while the flares emit infrared light to deflect heat-seeking guided missiles. The presence of PIDS+ on these aircraft is a clear indication that they were acquired from the Royal Danish Air Force, as this system is a distinctive feature of Danish F-16s.
The air-to-air armament with which the fighters were equipped could also be seen. These were the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile for air-to-air combat beyond visual range (BVR) and the AIM-9M Sidewinder for combat within visual range, also known as “Dog-fight”.
See also: How Ukraine plans to use F-16 fighters to challenge Russian air superiority
Ukraine will eventually receive about 85 F-16 fighters from its European allies, which is a substantial force, although some will remain in NATO territory to train future Ukrainian pilots and as a strategic reserve to cope with the combat losses they will undoubtedly suffer. More aircraft will be incorporated into the Ukrainian Air Force as more pilots complete the corresponding courses and are able to fly them effectively.
