Source: inukraine_official on Instagram
The road to Ukraine receiving the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a story all to itself, mainly in the politics that held up the process. Ukraine formally requested the F-16 in late February 2022 in order to quickly update the Ukrainian Air Force's (UAF) air defense capability. Although the F-16 entered service in 1980, three years before the Mikoyan MiG-29, the F-16 has been in continual improvement cycles since its introduction which have allowed it to surpass the abilities of the MiG-29s of the UAF. Former President Joe Biden finally approved the supply of the F-16 to Ukraine in August 2023 but the UAF would not receive its first jets until July 2024. The specific model of F-16 the UAF is using is the F-16 Block 15 MLU (Mid-Life Update), designated the F-16AM, and they are not coming from the United States but from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway. The pledges include thirty aircraft from Belgium (none delivered yet), nineteen from Denmark (none delivered yet), twenty-four from the Netherlands (a portion have been delivered), and twelve (plus 10 more for parts) from Norway. To date, only seven F-16s are operational with the UAF.
The F-16AM is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-200 turbojet that can generate 23,830 pounds of thrust when on full afterburner. This provides for a maximum speed of 1,345 miles per hour and a cruise speed of 577 miles per hour. The service ceiling is 55,000 feet and a operational range of 1,407 miles.
The majority of the MLU improvements are in the avionics. The biggest of these was upgrading the radar to the AN/APG-66(V)2 model. The AN/APG-66, designed by Westinghouse, first appeared in the 1970s and is the primary fire-control radar system for the F-16. The radar is of the X-band, pulse-Doppler type and uses a planar array, consisting of six LRUs (Line Replaceable Units) to ease repair/maintenance. Operating frequency range is between 6.2 to 10.9 gigahertz. The (V)2 variant boosts the detection range to 52 miles by incorporating enhancements that help in filtering out the effects of chaff, ground clutter, and jamming. The AN/APG-66 is a look down/shoot down system which means it uses a PRF (Pulse-Repetition Frequency) which allows the radar to sift through ground clutter, locate targets, and enable the engagement of targets below the F-16AM. Likewise, the radar has look up/shoot up capability. The search cone is 120 degrees by 120 degrees.
Other updates included an improved IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) which permits the F-16 to utilize BVR (Beyond Visual Range) munitions that exceed the onboard radar's range. Additional changes include redesigned cockpit displays, updated EW (Electronic Warfare) systems, new communication sets, updated flight controls to improve low-altitude handling, and the ability to integrate with U.S. AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation & Targeting Infrared for Night) and AN/AAQ-28 Litening targeting pods. Ukrainian pilots are equipped with the JHMCS (Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System)
The only built-in armament of the F-16AM is the General Electric M61A1 Vulcan 20mm, 6-barrel rotary cannon. A total of 511 rounds is carried. Hydraulically operated and electrically fired, the M61A1 can spit out 6,000 rounds per minute. The typical ammunition load is the reliable M56A3/A4 HEI (High-Explosive Incendiary) round. The M56 can create a blast radius against ground targets out to 6.6 feet with a shrapnel hazard out to 66 feet. Against armor, the round can penetrate 13mm of rolled homogeneous armor at 0 degrees slope at a range of 341 feet. The effective range of the M61A1 is 1.9 miles.
For hardpoints, the F-16AM has two wing-tip rails, a total of six under-wing hardpoints, and three centerline hardpoints for a total war load capacity of 17,000 pounds. The F-16 can utilize a whole host of ordnance and so to go through all of them would make for a short novel. As such, ordnance seen in use by the UAF's F-16AM jets include: AIM-9 Sidewinder (infrared guided, short range AAM [Air-to-Air Missile]), AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile), and the GBU-39 250 pound glide SDB (Small Diameter Bomb). Other equipment seen on hardpoints include the AN/ALQ-131 ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) pod, Sargent Fletcher manufactured 370 gallon drop tanks, and Terma (a Danish company) built PIDS+ (Pylon Integrated Dispensing System Plus) and ECIPS+ (Electronic Combat Integrated Pylon System Plus). The latter two systems are defensive packages that include MAWS (Missile Approach Warning System), chaff dispensers, flare dispensers, radar warning system (alerting the pilot when his aircraft is “painted” by a radar system), and a homing receiver warning system (again, alerting the pilot when his aircraft is being targeted by a homing radar). As a note, the specific models of the Sidewinder seen include the AIM-9L, AIM-9M and AIM-9X while the AMRAAM has been seen in the AIM-120B and AIM-120C variants.
In the photograph, visible are AIM-120C missiles on the wing-tip rails and AIM-9M on a wing hardpoints along with what appears to be a Terma ECIPS+ on the plane nearest the viewer. The aircraft also have drop tanks. Also, at least two of the F-16AMs retain their Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) paint and on the furthest F-16AM, the rectangle on the vertical stabilizer is the painted over RNLAF tail code. The same plane shows a lot of carbon scoring around the gun port for the M61A1.
So far, the UAF has primarily deployed their F-16AM fighters in the air defense role, combating Russian cruise missiles and the 9K720 Iskander (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) short-range ballistic missiles. More rarely, the F-16AM is sortied for ground attack missions due to not having air superiority and the risk to the pilot and plane from anti-aircraft fire (MANPADS, mobile SAM systems, and the like).
To date, the UAF has lost one F-16AM along with its pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksii Mes, call sign Moonfish. He was killed on August 26, 2024 during a mission to combat a Russian mass aerial attack consisting of some 120 missiles and over 100 drones. According to Ukrainian sources, Mes destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone before being downed and killed. How he was downed was initially unknown. A U.S. official said it was pilot error, something that the UAF refuted. Ultimately, it was found that Mes was shot down by friendly ground fire during the attack, the weapon having been a MIM-104 Patriot missile.
