At the beginning of last month, two trucks entered Ukraine from the territory of Poland with two disassembled American F-16 fighter jets. With the F-16 entering the territory of Ukraine, the Russian side is also ready to shoot the F-16 remotely without using the Su-35 to shoot.
Foreword: The failure of the Ukrainian army's summer counteroffensive is obvious to all, but the Russian army has launched a large-scale offensive on multiple fronts. Avdeyevka and Maryinka have successively reported unfavorable news for Ukraine. In the eyes of the West, this means that the Ukrainian army is getting farther and farther away from the goal of defeating the Russian army on the battlefield.
In this case, the F-16, which Ukraine has always been thinking about, has once again appeared in the public eye. In the operational positioning of the U.S. military, the F-16 is a medium-sized multi-role fighter, and the combat attributes of the "panacea" can indeed allow the Ukrainian army to take into account both air supremacy and land strikes, but it may be difficult to turn the tide of the war with F-16, from the previous battle of Bakhmut to the current battle of Avdeyevka, the Ukrainian army really put it on the battlefield I don't know when?
(F-16 has always been the equipment that has been on the minds of Ukraine)
1. Can the F-16, which the Ukrainian army has in mind, really achieve a big reversal in the war?
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, although the West provided a large number of weapons and equipment, Ukraine most expected the F-16. From Ukraine's point of view, getting the F-16 can greatly improve its comprehensive combat power and have an important impact on the war situation. The Western media have also insinuated against Russia, believing that the Russian army will soon be vulnerable, but is this really the case? I am afraid that it is not necessarily true.
Judging from the current battlefield, the performance of the ground forces of the Ukrainian army can be said to be not optimistic, and without the support of strong reinforcements, the Ukrainian army will be in an extremely disadvantageous position. For the United States, Ukraine's main task is to "consume" the Russian army on the battlefield, which is why US President Joe Biden has spared no effort to obtain more military aid for Ukraine.
After more than a year of war, the Russian army has learned its lessons, and at the same time has a military advantage, and with the blessing of heavy equipment and the Aerospace Forces, it has become more and more difficult for the Ukrainian army to hold on. But the United States also does not want to expand the war situation to a situation that is difficult to control, so it will choose to provide Ukraine with medium-sized fighters, so that it can not only suppress the Russian army, but also not have long-range strike capabilities. However, as a medium-sized fighter, there is a clear gap between the F-16 itself and the heavy fighter, and the Russian army happens to have a lot of heavy fighters, and the Russian army also has a relatively sound air defense system, of which the S-400 air defense missile is even the existence of the US military.
So in this case, the F-16 can only play a role in consuming the combat power of the Russian army, and there is a high probability that the scenario of the Ukrainian army wanting to turn the tables against the wind on the battlefield will not happen.
(Today's war situation cannot be changed by the F-16)
2. Russia is ready to "killer weapon" and specialize in F-16
Currently, Ukrainian pilots are being trained on F-16s at a base in Romania. There is information that the Ukrainian army expects to start using these fighters in mid-2024.
But now Russia is ready to deal with it, hitting F-16 one by one. According to the "Eurasian Times", Russian officials revealed that the A-50 early warning aircraft was paired with the S-400 missile with a range of nearly 400 kilometers, specifically targeting the F-16.
According to the report, the S-400 uses the 40N6 ultra-long-range anti-aircraft missile, and with the blessing of this missile, the A-50 early warning aircraft and the S-400 can easily hit over-the-horizon targets. It is reported that the "lethal range" of the 40N6 missile can reach 380 km, the average flight speed is 1190 meters per second, the use of an active radar seeker allows it to climb to a certain height during the attack, and after approaching the target, turn on the active radar automatic tracking, which allows it to effectively hit low-altitude targets at extremely long distances and destroy aircraft outside the radio visibility range of ground-based radars.
When the 40N6 missile approaches the target, the warhead emits sharp metal shrapnel that can damage and tear the aircraft's fuselage, disabling it. You must know that when the Ukrainian army piloted the F-16, in order to prevent detection by Russian ground-based air defense systems, it was not possible to maintain a flight at medium and high altitudes throughout the mission, which undoubtedly gave the S-400 a chance to strike.
In a report in October this year, it was mentioned that the Russian army has successfully fused the S-400 with the A-50 AWACS aircraft to combat Ukrainian aircraft, proving the feasibility of this strategy.
（40N6导弹杀伤力不小）
3. Shoigu's 20-day shot down, or become a reality
At the moment, the number of F-16s that Ukraine can acquire is inconclusive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that the Netherlands and Belgium pledged to provide Ukraine with 42 warplanes, but the joint statement of the donors did not mention any donation amount.
In this regard, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that according to the current efficiency of the Russian army, all F-16s assisted by the West to Ukraine will be completely destroyed within 20 days. He mentioned that in October, the Russian air defense system intercepted thousands of Ukrainian air attack weapons, including 37 Ukrainian military aircraft, and the F-16 provided by the West to Ukraine will not be too much, and the Russian army is fully capable of intercepting it.
Today, the Russian army has planned to use A-50 AWACS aircraft with S-400 missiles to destroy the F-16, but ground air defense will not be the only means of response. Su-35, Su-30 and MiG-31 fighters are constantly patrolling Russian territory, and are also armed with R-37 over-the-horizon missiles with a range of nearly 200 kilometers.
(With the blessing of the Su-35, the pressure on the F-16 is not small)
The Russian Aerospace Forces can fully rely on the existing combat system to achieve the coordination of fighters and ground firepower, and the F-16 will be attacked by the air defense system if it climbs to a high altitude, and Russian fighters and 40N6 missiles can also be dispatched to strike at low altitudes. According to the assumption of the Russian army, the Ukrainian F-16 will not be able to escape. In addition, the Russian army can also strike at the airfield and directly turn the F-16 into a fireball. In this way, even if the F-16 is put into the battlefield, it will not have much impact on the current situation.
Conclusion: Do you know anything else about Russia's way of dealing with the Ukrainian F-16? Welcome to leave your views and stories in the comment area.