Subscribe to Newsletters Forbes Business Aerospace and Defense Ukraine's F-16s Carried Out the First Airstrikes On Monday, agile jets reportedly shot down Russian cruise missiles. David Axe Forbes Staff David Axe writes about ships, planes, tanks, drones and missiles. Follow Aug 27, 2024.04:18pm EDT The Ukrainian F-16. The Ukrainian F-16.Photo of the Ukrainian air force Ukraine's former Danish Lockheed Martin F-16s have achieved their first aerial victories. Supersonic F-16s shot down Russian cruise missiles during Russian airstrikes targeting Ukrainian cities on Monday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The downing took place three weeks after the first of the aircraft, which Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged about 85 F-16s, reached Ukraine. "It's great to see them in action," wrote Finnish analyst Joni Askola. It was obvious early on that the Ukrainian air force would assign the F-16s to an air defense mission. They were seen flying with pairs of AIM-9 infrared homing air-to-air missiles and AIM-120 radar homing air-to-air missiles. Although they are broadly compatible with Ukraine's best Western-made anti-radar missiles and GPS-guided glide bombs, they have not been seen with air-ground munitions. It makes sense for the F-16s to fly air defense patrols. Ukraine is under relentless attack from the air and its armed forces are mobilizing all available weapons to repel daily attacks. The attacks in the early hours of Monday morning were the worst so far of Russia's wider 29-month war against Ukraine. Hundreds of Russian ballistic and cruise missiles and explosive drones fired by warships and heavy bombers and launchers on the ground have hit Kiev and other cities, destroying large areas of Ukraine's power grid and driving thousands of civilians into shelters overnight. Four people died. The damage could have been even worse. The Ukrainian air force and military claimed to have shot down 102 missiles and 99 drones. Desperate to strengthen their air defenses, the Ukrainians have started flying armed helicopters on anti-drone patrols, which has reinforced an air defense network that includes long-range surface-to-air missile batteries, patrols by armed trucks and now F-16s. Improved, 1980s-vintage fighter jets are reasonably well equipped for the role. The Ukrainian air force is equipping its 1980s-vintage F-16s with 1990s-vintage AIM-120BS, which are guided by tiny radars in their noses and have a range of up to 40 miles. For closer combat, the F-16s carry AIM-9L/M, first introduced in the 80s, which can hit targets several miles away by following their infrared signature. Two Ukrainian F-16s. Two Ukrainian F-16s.Photo of the Ukrainian air force These are not the latest air-to-air missiles, but they are reliable and abound in the arsenals of Ukraine's allies. The Ukrainian air force should have no problem keeping its F-16s fully equipped despite the arrival of more single-engine fighter jets next year. The first sorties of Ukrainian F-16s targeted Russian cruise missiles, which failed to fire back. As more fighters arrive and the Ukrainian air force expands its mission set, F-16s may enter combat against targets that can fire back : Russian air force fighters and air defense batteries. "When Ukraine acquires additional F-16 jets, more pilots, two Saab AEW aircraft, increased experience and more missiles, the jets will be used for purposes beyond just air defense," Askola predicted, referring to the two Swedish-made Saab 340 airborne early warning radar aircraft that Ukraine will receive. October, Ukraine will receive additional F-16 jets, more pilots, two Saab AEW aircraft, increased experience and more missiles. Air force officials are preparing the jets for these dangerous confrontations. To protect the F-16s from Russian missiles, Ukraine has retained the fighters' recently installed Pylon Integrated Delivery System and Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon Systems (PIDS and ECIPS). PIDS launch metal particles and hot-burning flares to deceive incoming radar and infrared guided missiles. The ECIPS houses passive defenses to complement active particles and flares, including an AN/ALQ-162 jammer to undercut radars on the ground and an AN/AAR-60 missile warning system to trigger passive defenses. The jammer requires special programming to recognize and defeat the latest Russian radars. ABD Hava Kuvvetleri, Florida'da konuşlu 68. Hava Kuvvetleri'dir. F -16'ların sinyal bozucularını ayarlamak için Elektronik Harp Filosu'ndan hava kuvvetlerini Avrupa'ya konuşlandırarak bu programlamaya yardımcı oldu. Filo açıklamasında, "Danimarka ve Norveç tarafından sağlanan verilere güvenerek, ardından yeni süreçleri ve yaklaşımları olağan sürece uyarlayarak, ekip sistemi anlayabildi ve çalışmalarına başlayabildi" denildi. Filo yetkililerinden biri, "Yeniden programlanmış bir kapsüle sahip tek bir F-16 tek başına hava hakimiyetini elde edemez, ancak stratejik öneme ve etkiye sahip bir hedefe ulaşmak için anında hava üstünlüğü sağlayabilir" dedi. Beni Twitter'dan takip edin. Web sitemi veya diğer çalışmalarımı buradan inceleyin. Bana güvenli bir ipucu gönderin. Kaynaklar : 1. Kyiv Independent : https://kyivindependent.com/f-16s-defense-russian-mass-attack / 2. Ukrayna Genelkurmay Başkanlığı: https://www.facebook.com/AFUkraine/posts/pfbid02FDWo66KAZBfXX6EUi93A8kWqjCh6Fq9Zk17szqSDXhUD9W4DTAxncB9WitCGpTC1l 3. Joni Askola : https://x.com/ArturRehi/status/1828401267523117305 4. ABD Hava Kuvvetleri : https://www.dvidshub.net/news/479401/dominate-spectrum-350th-sww-enables-ew-capabilities-ukrainian-f-16s David Axe David Axe'i takip edin David Axe bir gazetecidir ve Columbia, Güney Carolina'da yaşayan film yapımcısı. 2020'de Forbes'a katıldı ve şu anda Ukrayna'ya odaklanıyor. Editöryal Standartlar Baskı Tekrar Baskılar ve İzinler Konuşmaya Katılın Yorumlar Tek Topluluk . Birçok Ses . Düşüncelerinizi paylaşmak için ücretsiz bir hesap oluşturun. Topluluk kurallarımızı buradan okuyun. Subscribe to Newsletters Forbes Business Aerospace and Defense Ukraine's F-16s Carried Out the First Airstrikes On Monday, agile jets reportedly shot down Russian cruise missiles. David Axe Forbes Staff David Axe writes about ships, planes, tanks, drones and missiles. Follow Aug 27, 2024.04:18pm EDT The Ukrainian F-16. The Ukrainian F-16.Photo of the Ukrainian air force Ukraine's former Danish Lockheed Martin F-16s have achieved their first aerial victories. Supersonic F-16s shot down Russian cruise missiles during Russian airstrikes targeting Ukrainian cities on Monday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The downing took place three weeks after the first of the aircraft, which Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have pledged about 85 F-16s, reached Ukraine. "It's great to see them in action," wrote Finnish analyst Joni Askola. It was obvious early on that the Ukrainian air force would assign the F-16s to an air defense mission. They were seen flying with pairs of AIM-9 infrared homing air-to-air missiles and AIM-120 radar homing air-to-air missiles. Although they are broadly compatible with Ukraine's best Western-made anti-radar missiles and GPS-guided glide bombs, they have not been seen with air-ground munitions. It makes sense for the F-16s to fly air defense patrols. Ukraine is under relentless attack from the air and its armed forces are mobilizing all available weapons to repel daily attacks. The attacks in the early hours of Monday morning were the worst so far of Russia's wider 29-month war against Ukraine. Hundreds of Russian ballistic and cruise missiles and explosive drones fired by warships and heavy bombers and launchers on the ground have hit Kiev and other cities, destroying large areas of Ukraine's power grid and driving thousands of civilians into shelters overnight. Four people died. The damage could have been even worse. The Ukrainian air force and military claimed to have shot down 102 missiles and 99 drones. Desperate to strengthen their air defenses, the Ukrainians have started flying armed helicopters on anti-drone patrols, which has reinforced an air defense network that includes long-range surface-to-air missile batteries, patrols by armed trucks and now F-16s. Improved, 1980s-vintage fighter jets are reasonably well equipped for the role. The Ukrainian air force is equipping its 1980s-vintage F-16s with 1990s-vintage AIM-120BS, which are guided by tiny radars in their noses and have a range of up to 40 miles. For closer combat, the F-16s carry AIM-9L/M, first introduced in the 80s, which can hit targets several miles away by following their infrared signature. Two Ukrainian F-16s. Two Ukrainian F-16s.Photo of the Ukrainian air force These are not the latest air-to-air missiles, but they are reliable and abound in the arsenals of Ukraine's allies. The Ukrainian air force should have no problem keeping its F-16s fully equipped despite the arrival of more single-engine fighter jets next year. The first sorties of Ukrainian F-16s targeted Russian cruise missiles, which failed to fire back. As more fighters arrive and the Ukrainian air force expands its mission set, F-16s may enter combat against targets that can fire back : Russian air force fighters and air defense batteries. "When Ukraine acquires additional F-16 jets, more pilots, two Saab AEW aircraft, increased experience and more missiles, the jets will be used for purposes beyond just air defense," Askola predicted, referring to the two Swedish-made Saab 340 airborne early warning radar aircraft that Ukraine will receive. October, Ukraine will receive additional F-16 jets, more pilots, two Saab AEW aircraft, increased experience and more missiles. Air force officials are preparing the jets for these dangerous confrontations. To protect the F-16s from Russian missiles, Ukraine has retained the fighters' recently installed Pylon Integrated Delivery System and Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon Systems (PIDS and ECIPS). PIDS launch metal particles and hot-burning flares to deceive incoming radar and infrared guided missiles. The ECIPS houses passive defenses to complement active particles and flares, including an AN/ALQ-162 jammer to undercut radars on the ground and an AN/AAR-60 missile warning system to trigger passive defenses. The jammer requires special programming to recognize and defeat the latest Russian radars. The U.S. Air Force is the 68th Air Force based in Florida. He helped with this programming by deploying airmen from the Electronic Warfare Squadron to Europe to adjust the jammers of the F-16s. "By relying on the data provided by Denmark and Norway, then adapting new processes and approaches to the usual process, the team was able to understand the system and begin their work," the fleet statement said. "A single F-16 with a reprogrammed capsule cannot achieve air dominance alone, but it can give you an instant air superiority to achieve a goal of strategic importance and impact," one of the squadron officials said. Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website or other works here. Send me a safe tip . Resources: 1. Kyiv Independent : https://kyivindependent.com/f-16s-defense-russian-mass-attack/ 2. General Staff of Ukraine: https://www.facebook.com/AFUkraine/posts/pfbid02FDWo66KAZBfXX6EUi93A8kWqjCh6Fq9Zk17szqSDXhUD9W4DTAxncB9WitCGpTC1l 3. Joni Askola: https://x.com/ArturRehi/status/1828401267523117305 4. The US Air Force: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/479401/dominate-spectrum-350th-sww-enables-ew-capabilities-ukrainian-f-16s David Axe David Axe Follow David Axe is a journalist and filmmaker living in Columbia, South Carolina. she joined Forbes in 2020 and is currently focusing on Ukraine. Editorial Standards Print Reprints and Permissions Join The Conversation Comments One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Read our community guidelines here.