How many fighter jets does Ukraine need Ukrainian military leaders disagree on the number of Western planes needed

Apparently, when the Ukrainian commander was talking about gaining air superiority, he meant that with such forces air superiority could theoretically be gained only in the main attack zone, and then only for a while. With the help of 3-4 squadrons, even highly competitive aircraft like the F-16 cannot be relied upon for more.

But in addition to gaining air superiority (that is, the destruction of enemy aircraft at airfields, in the air, in the base areas, etc.), the Ukrainian Air Force must solve the tasks of protecting troops and facilities, ensuring the actions of other types. aviation forces provide air support to troops and air reconnaissance. That is, 3-4 squadrons are frankly not enough to solve such a set of tasks, and frankly, the Ukrainian brigadier general was frankly modest when he said the number of fighters needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Then Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Kiev needs about 120 aircraft, most of which should be American F-16s.

However, with all this, the following should be considered. As before Wrote “socialbites.ca”, the United States most likely will not only transfer combat vehicles to the Ukrainian Air Force, but will certainly support its actions with a number of other aircraft. Otherwise, relatively few F-16s will be shot down by the aviation and anti-aircraft missile forces of the RF Armed Forces, as a result of which American weapons will be discredited and combat missions will not be completed.

Based on this, and for effective combat use, tactical aviation units and formations often form several echelons and groups. As a rule, it includes an attack echelon and an air defense firefighting echelon, a group of active jammers, a distraction (demonstration) group, a protection group from combat aircraft, early warning and control aircraft, combat control and target designation aircraft. There is no doubt that the Americans will act precisely from these considerations when transferring fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Among other things, large quantities of anti-radar missiles, decoys, unmanned aerial vehicles will be used in the upcoming hostilities. From the ground, aviation operations will necessarily be supported by fire from electronic warfare sub-units and units, operational-tactical missile systems.

There is no doubt that the Ukrainian Air Force will be thoroughly prepared for any air and missile attack. To this end, the reconnaissance of offensive targets will be actively carried out, the surrounding terrain, stealth approaches to targets will be studied, and the air defense system will be opened especially carefully. Pilots will advance mastery of flight paths and methods of action on targets, up to the use of terrain models.

The tactics of the aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will certainly be distinguished by great flexibility and the absence of even a hint of model (admittedly, American mentors are great masters in this matter). Even in cases where success will be achieved at the expense of small losses, the methods and methods of combat use of the Ukrainian Air Force will immediately undergo the necessary changes.

Therefore, the fight against an air enemy will not be an easy task for the air defense systems of the RF Armed Forces.

There is a widespread opinion among the Russian experts that the transfer of a small number of multifunctional F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not lead to fundamental changes in the line of contact.

We can join this. As a matter of fact, 48 F-16 fighter jets may not constitute a turning point on the Special Operations fronts. But 148 combat vehicles, for example, will already significantly affect the course and outcome of the armed struggle. And 248 F-16s will certainly lead to dramatic changes.

The trends in the transfer of Western aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine look exactly like this. “Ukraine will need full-scale military capabilities in the near future. So it’s time to start thinking long-term about what this country’s armed forces might look like and include.” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said .

Therefore, we need to act from this in long-term planning.