The sky over Ukraine will become the most dangerous battlefield on which the American-made F-16 fighters have faced so far, former US military pilots told Business Insider.
The aircraft will have to withstand modern Russian air defense systems - both S-300 and S-400.
"Russia's arsenal of surface-to-air systems is more modern and sophisticated than those the F-16 has faced in past conflicts,” the article said.
Russia also has a "huge fleet” of Su-35 and MiG-31 armed with long-range missiles, and its military is able to detect American fighters hundreds of kilometers away.
"The Russians have high-end equipment for the war in Ukraine,” while previous F-16 adversaries in the Middle East, such as Iraq and Syria, "generally used outdated Soviet equipment and their militaries were probably not as well trained.
When Ukrainian F-16s take off, they are likely to be immediately within range of Russian air defense systems. Ukrainian pilots may find themselves "under fire even before they start using their own tactics".
According to data from the Oryx resource, which tracks military losses, Ukraine has already said goodbye to at least 86 aircraft since the beginning of the war.
The skies over Ukraine will become the most dangerous battlefield in the history of F-16 fighters
Russia's arsenal of surface-to-air systems is more modern and sophisticated than those the F-16 has faced in past conflicts
Apr 29, 2024 12:25 106
