Will "Pomegranate Sister" collapse in Ukraine's persona?, Finally, it's F-16's turn to appear in the Netherlands | fighter jets | Ukraine

The F-16 "Fighting Falcon", which is called "Sister Pomegranate" by the Internet in China, together with Su-27 as "the beauty of the fighter world", has produced up to 4700 "the most successful fighter aircraft in the world" in more than 40 years. This time, it may really join the Ukrainian combat group.

According to CNN and the Russian newspaper Businessman on the 20th, Dutch Prime Minister L ü tter stated after meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky that once the delivery conditions are met, the Netherlands will provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Zelensky subsequently posted on social media stating that the Netherlands was "the first country to agree to provide F-16 to Ukraine after pilot training is completed," expressing gratitude to the Netherlands.

Subsequently, Danish Prime Minister Fraser Riksen stated after meeting with Zelensky that he would provide Ukraine with 19 F-16s this year and next, with the first batch of 6 expected to be delivered by the end of the year. On the 19th, the Ukrainian side also stated that Ukrainian pilots have started receiving training on F-16 fighter jets.

Will the globally popular star fighter jet's appearance turn the tide or lead to a collapse in character design? Chao News reporters interviewed multiple military experts.

What kind of artifact is the F-16?

Around 1970, the "Fighter Mafia" led by American ace pilot Boyd drew lessons from aerial combat in the Vietnam War, greatly optimized line of sight combat performance, and proposed the "Energy Maneuver Theory", which led to the emergence of General Dynamics F-16 in the United States.

It made its maiden flight on January 20, 1974 and entered service on August 17, 1978. It has a high thrust to weight ratio and low wing load, making it the first fighter in the United States to be able to perform 9G overload maneuvers, first to use line of sight flight control, and an ergonomic cockpit.

In 1987, the F-16 of the US Air Force's Thunderbird Flight Performance Team visited Beijing and performed brilliantly, leaving a deep impression on the Chinese people.

Since the 1980s, the single engine, inexpensive F-16 has been paired with the expensive F-15 Eagle, creating a 40 year strong air advantage for the US and Western air forces. The F-16 has almost participated in all wars since the Battle of Bekaa Valley in 1981, and its performance has withstood practical tests.

According to Flight International magazine in 2018, there are a total of 2269 F-16s in service worldwide, twice the number of second place F-18s, half of which are exported to more than 30 countries and regions. Among them, the Dutch Air Force is equipped with a total of 213 aircraft, and the Danish Air Force is equipped with 78 aircraft.

Why did it make Zelensky want to see through?

According to surging news reports, on the eve of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Ukrainian army had only 98 fighter planes and attack aircraft, while the Russian army had as many as 1511. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the special military operation on February 24th last year destroyed all Ukrainian air forces from the beginning.

On May 30th, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Konashenkov reported that since the launch of the special military operation, a total of 183 Ukrainian planes, 128 helicopters, 1064 drones, and 325 sets of anti-aircraft missile systems have been destroyed.

"There are very few remaining Su-27 and MiG-29 models in Ukraine, and they are both early models with outdated performance. In May of this year, Poland provided assistance to 14 modified MiG-29 models, but none of them are new models that have undergone deep NATO improvements." Military expert and retired rocket researcher Shao Yongling told Chao News reporters.

"When it comes to the impact of the F-16 on the Russia Ukraine conflict, its significance does not lie in air superiority, because neither side has air superiority over the Ukrainian theater of war, and neither side dares to enter Ukraine's airspace casually."

Shao Yongling explained that because the ground air defense firepower is too strong and the air defense network is very dense, no one should imagine being able to gallop freely over Ukraine. "The launch of cruise missiles by the Russian Aerospace Forces takes place hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from Ukraine on Russian soil, indicating that Russian aircraft dare not rashly enter Ukrainian airspace. The arrival of the F-16 cannot change this situation."

In Shao Yongling's view, the main function of the F-16 is to support the Ukrainian army's ground counterattack. "The counterattack that began in June did not make as much progress as imagined, and an important factor was the lack of air support. With the F-16, it could cooperate with ground armored forces to advance, strike key nodes such as Russian equipment gathering points, logistics supplies, and command and control centers behind the defense line, and cross three fronts to attack the Russian army. Now, it can only push forward in one plane dimension, which is a significant reason for the high casualties of the Ukrainian army."

Military expert Song Zhongping believes that the precision guided ammunition equipped with the F-16 can more determine how much combat power Ukraine can unleash than the fighter jet itself.

The F-16, which is mainly used for "indiscriminate bombing" by the US military, has a very diverse arsenal of ground weapons - "Storm Shadow" air-to-ground missiles, laser guided bombs, satellite guided glide bombs, small diameter bombs, JSOW standoff dispensers, and so on, which can pose a serious threat to the Russian military.

"If the Ukrainian F-16 can cooperate well with ground forces, there is hope to tear open a gap in Russia's strong defense line in some areas," said Shao Yongling.

If NATO early warning aircraft, drones, satellites, etc. provide air intelligence support, the F-16 can also launch AIM-120 medium range air-to-air missiles to hunt Russian military aircraft at long distances, weaken Russia's ground support capabilities, and cover up Ukraine's counterattack.

Zelensky's desire for the F-16 is understandable.

What factors restrict Ukraine from playing with the F-16?

Previously, Russian President Putin stated in response to Western military aid to Ukraine that the F-16 "will be burned down like the tanks provided by the West to Ukraine.".

CNN reported that Ukraine still needs several months to truly apply the fighter jet. Other US officials have stated that the F-16 is "not very helpful" for Ukraine's current counterattack and cannot "turn the situation around".

"For the Ukrainian military, being able to make good use of the F-16 is a big challenge, and pilot training is a big trouble." Shao Yongling introduced that Ukrainian pilots generally have poor English proficiency, and currently only 8 people have passed the English proficiency test. It would be difficult to gather so many pilots for two squadrons, or more than 40 F-16s, and the training time would be relatively long, possibly taking six months.

In addition, as a major NATO equipment, the F-16's logistics support system is completely different from Ukraine's accustomed Soviet style system and needs to be rebuilt.

"Another challenge is the airport, many Ukrainian airports have been bombed by the Russian military, making it unable to meet the takeoff and landing requirements of the F-16. However, the F-16 is a type of aircraft with high airport requirements." In Shao Yongling's view, this is a relatively large problem.

Shao Yongling proposed that there is another Western fighter jet that is more suitable for Ukraine than the F-16, and it is the Swedish "Eagle Lion". "The 'Eagle Lion' has stronger field deployment capabilities and is likely to be provided to Ukraine in the future after Sweden's accession to NATO."

"Nowadays, war is a confrontation between systems, and no single weapon or equipment can determine the outcome of the war." Song Zhongping reminded, "The F-16 is only one part of the combat system, and its quantity and training level of pilots are limited. How can it be used to change the battlefield pattern?"

What risks will the Ukrainian military face with the F-16?

With the F-16, the Ukrainian military may use it to strike Russian controlled areas and even Russian territory. The F-16 carries precision guided ammunition, which is higher in penetration ability and strike accuracy than the Ukrainian military's original models, posing a greater threat to Russian territory.

"This is equivalent to Ukraine obtaining strategic means of attack, stimulating Russia to make a stronger counterattack. Therefore, the West will definitely impose some restrictions on this," said Shao Yongling.

However, Song Zhongping pointed out another risk: "There are limited airports in Ukraine that can support F-16 operations. If the F-16 takes off from airports in Poland and Romania to attack Russian targets, the Russian military may attack the airports of these NATO countries, which will inevitably lead to an escalation of the situation."

What are the hidden secrets of the F-16 that the United States wants its allies to aid Ukraine?

On the issue of military aid to Ukraine, the United States has always been reluctant to provide its own equipment, but has been encouraging European allies to provide weapons. For example, the main battle tank, the Leopard 2 provided by Germany, was defeated in Ukraine and the United States has yet to support the M1 tank.

The same goes for F-16. Although the US Air Force and the Air National Guard have the world's largest fleet of F-16 aircraft, many of which are retired but still usable, they do not give a single one and instead encourage European countries to give their active F-16 to Zelensky.

Song Zhongping revealed that the United States' move is entirely driven by its own economic interests.

"The United States has made a commitment that any country willing to provide Ukraine with the F-16 will have a more advanced F-35 stealth fighter." Song Zhongping analyzed, "The F-35 is currently the number one export flagship product of the US military industry, but the large number of active F-16s from allied air forces are still usable, objectively hindering the expansion of F-35 sales."

Therefore, by having allies send the F-16 to Ukraine for consumption, they can free up the air force and invest heavily in purchasing Loma's F-35, with the greatest benefit naturally being the US military industrial complex.