Ukrainian pilots find remarkable potential in F‑16 jets despite retraining challenges

Our pilots are incredibly impressed, Phantom speaks about the F-16 fighters. - The plane has simply surpassed their expectations. They already see substantial promise and extensive potential for how this machine could aid the Ukrainian air forces, he continues.

In addition, Phantom highlighted a few small issues pilots encountered during training. The retraining process for Ukrainian fighter pilots to modern F-16s proved slightly complex, as many of them were more familiar with flying older Soviet designs such as the Su-27 and MiG-29.

Notably, military expert and flight instructor Roman Svitana recently discussed the F-16. He highlighted that initial reports suggest F-16 fighters are already operating in Ukrainian airspace, although they are not currently stationed at local airports. According to Svitana, full ready-to-fight machines - complete with an entire engineering and technical team - are expected to be available around March or April.

Ukrainian experts have frequently spoken about the capabilities of the F-16. They've particularly emphasised how the fitting of appropriate weapons to the fighters could provide the defending army with a strategic upper hand. However, they have also warned that the announced number of dozens of F-16s may not be sufficient to assure Ukraine of total superiority over Russian forces. They estimate that around 120 machines might be necessary for this purpose.

The F-16 fighters, presumed to be potential tough opponents for the aggressor's army, outperform competing MiG-29s and S-27s both in weaponry and overall efficiency. The local forces already "understand and calculate the threat" these American models pose quite well. With a length of roughly 49 feet or 15 metres, these jets can reach speeds up to Mach 2 and operate at an altitude nearing 9.3 miles or around 15 kilometers.

The primary armament of the aforementioned jet is a six-barreled M61 Vulcan cannon, with a 20 mm calibre. In addition, various types of missiles (including the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AGM-65 Maverick) and bombs can be mounted on the weapon nodes located on the underbelly of the F-16s. It's also worth noting that machines armed with AGM-158 missiles, with a range approximately 249 miles or around 400 kilometres, are likely candidates to be deployed in Ukraine. This hard-to-detect ammunition, introduced in 2009, is also part of the arsenal of the Polish armed forces.