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Air War in Ukraine

Ukrainian F-16AM MLU with numbers 3599 and 3596.


F-16s with Yellow-Blue Roundels

Text: Miro Barič


In our series on the aerial war in Ukraine, we usually map the events of each month chronologically. However, we will make an exception for this period (from July 1 to July 31). A significant event took place at the very end of July, and it deserves attention at the beginning of this article. Ukraine has taken an important step to strengthen its air force by starting to use F-16 fighter jets over its territory.

 

Initially, videos surfaced showing F-16s in the Ukrainian sky. However, the footage wasn't entirely clear. A few days later, it was officially confirmed, and the fighters were welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the acceptance ceremony. According to his statements, Ukraine currently has 10 of these jets (out of the 79 promised), and by the end of this year, they will have 20.

During the ceremony with Zelensky, two F-16s were seen on the ground behind him. Later, a few of these jets appeared in the air. The Ukrainian Armed Forces released more footage. In most of these, only the insignia were visible, while other markings were either retouched or not painted on the aircraft at all. This is especially true for the pair of aircraft on the ground behind the Ukrainian president. They show some external features of the F-16ADF version of the U.S. Air Force, particularly the APX-13 IFF system antennas. However, they lack other typical features. It is also known that the U.S. has decided not to provide Ukraine with any fighter jets. Austrian military expert Tom Cooper believes that these are decommissioned aircraft serving only as a source of spare parts or as decoys in the event of a Russian attack on the airfield. This is supported by the incomplete camouflage, as these aircraft are missing the darker shade of gray on the upper surfaces.

The two aircraft that appeared in the air are a completely different case. In one shot, the tail numbers were not retouched. This allowed us to identify them as aircraft 80-3596 and 80-3599, which were ordered by Denmark in 1980. Another distinguishing feature of Danish aircraft is the position of the spotlight on the front left side of the fuselage and the absence of a brake parachute housing under the rudder. The Danish Royal Air Force upgraded these aircraft to the F-16AM MLU version in the 1990s. The last three letters stand for Mid-Life Update, which refers to a mid-life upgrade. This upgrade included improvements to the radar, IFF system, and software, bringing these aircraft closer to the F-16C/D Block 50/52 standard.

 

Further Interesting Information about Ukrainian F-16s

Additional interesting details about the Ukrainian F-16s were revealed through footage from an official video. It shows that the aircraft are equipped with the Terma PIDS+ system, integrated into the middle pylons under the wings. This means that the pylon can carry a weapon while also housing three sensors of the Hensoldt AAR-60(V)2 missile warning system. Each F-16 is thus equipped with six sensors that scan the surroundings in a 360-degree radius, detecting threats such as incoming missiles. If the system identifies such a threat, it visually and acoustically alerts the pilot, who can then execute evasive maneuvers. If the missile is too close, the second part of the PIDS+ system automatically activates, deploying countermeasures. Depending on the type of threat, the system selects the appropriate countermeasures and determines the optimal time, angle, and sequence to release them for maximum effectiveness.

The PIDS+ system integrated into the pylons of the Ukrainian F-16s offers their pilots greater capabilities than the older Soviet-made aircraft they previously flew. However, the armament seen on these pylons is less promising. The primary armament consists of AIM-120B AMRAAM missiles with active radar guidance. These are quality missiles that can be very effective with the latest software updates. However, they have a maximum range of 50 km, significantly less than the newer AIM-120C and D versions. This gives the Russian fighters armed with R-37M missiles the advantage of greater range. Also seen under the wing were AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, dating back to the 1980s. These infrared-guided missiles have a maximum range of 18 km. Air combat at such a distance does not occur in Ukraine, and the effectiveness of the AIM-9M against modern aircraft is questionable. On the other hand, they are fully sufficient for combat against Iranian Shahed drones, which Russia uses extensively.

Perhaps even more important is what Ukraine has not disclosed. Kyiv is well aware that the Russians meticulously study every piece of information. Thus, there remains the possibility that Ukraine has received newer weaponry for its F-16s that they simply haven’t revealed. Ukrainian F-16s are capable of carrying AGM-88 HARM missiles or guided bombs, which the Ukrainian air force has used for quite some time. Yet these were not shown in the footage. The two ex-American F-16s behind President Zelensky likely caused considerable confusion among Russian analysts. If the U.S. provided any F-16s to Ukraine despite claims to the contrary (even if only for spare parts), Kremlin analysts might be asking themselves what else the United States has supplied without public disclosure.

 This F-16, shown on the ground, is likely non-operational.

Footage from a video showing preparations and the takeoff of a Ukrainian F-16AM MLU.

Armament of the Ukrainian F-16 – on the innermost pylon under the wing there is a fuel drop tank, followed by a pylon with the integrated PIDS+ system, and finally an AIM-9M missile. There is an AIM-120B missile at the wingtip.


Attack on a Children's Hospital

The true capabilities of Ukrainian F-16s, the armament they carry, and how the Ukrainian Air Force uses them will become clearer in the coming months. For now, let's focus on what occurred during the observed period. Russia has been persistently advancing in the Donetsk region, employing waves of assaulting infantry despite suffering significant losses. They attempt to clear their path using glide bombs, against which Ukrainian defenses still lack an effective countermeasure. Ukrainian attacks on airfields and ammunition depots, which we described in the previous section, managed only to reduce the intensity of these attacks. Instead of dropping an average of 150 glide bombs per day, Russian aviation recently reduced that number to less than 100 daily. However, this is still far too many.

In addition to military targets, Russian forces regularly hit civilian targets, and this month was no exception. In this part of the article, we first look at the worst attack during the recent period. It occurred on Monday, July 8, just before the NATO summit in Washington, where Ukraine was also present. On that day, Russia launched more than 40 missiles at the cities of Kyiv, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Pokrovsk, and Kropyvnytskyi. The attacks resulted in 47 deaths and 189 injuries.

Among the targets was the Ochmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. At the time of the attack, the hospital housed 600 pediatric patients and approximately the same number of medical staff. Two adults lost their lives, including a young doctor. Another 16 people were injured, seven of whom were children. The dialysis department, where children received treatment, was completely destroyed, and several other departments were damaged, including specialized oncology laboratories, the only ones of their kind in Ukraine.

Moscow responded by claiming it only targets military objects, releasing several versions of what might have happened. This is a typical style of Russian propaganda—flooding the information space to dilute and weaken the truth. According to the Kremlin, Ukrainians either intentionally or accidentally struck the hospital themselves, mentioning several types of Western-made missiles. However, considering that missiles like those from the IRIS-T system cannot cause such extensive damage, one fact has worked against Russia from the start. The attack was captured on video, clearly showing the distinctive shape of a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, complete with the TRDD-50A jet engine mounted under the rear section. The missile showed no signs of damage and was heading toward the hospital on a typical trajectory. All these indicators rule out an accidental strike; the hospital was a deliberate target. The attack was carried out by members of the 22nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Division from the Engels-2 base near Saratov.

 Struck children's hospital Ochmatdyt in Kyiv.

The impact of the Russian Kh-101 missile on the hospital was captured on video. Note the jet engine under its rear part.


Airfields Under Fire

From the beginning of the observed period, Russia targeted Ukrainian airfields near the front line. On Monday, July 1, multiple missiles struck the Myrhorod base in the Poltava region. Two Ukrainian Su-27 fighters were destroyed, and four others were damaged. It is unclear whether these were decommissioned and grounded aircraft or operational ones. However, at least some of them were likely in operational condition.

The following day, Tuesday, July 2, a Russian attack targeted a Mi-24 helicopter at a base in Poltava. The helicopter was likely seriously damaged by the explosion of cluster munitions. On Wednesday, July 3, an Iskander-M ballistic missile destroyed a MiG-29 at the Kryvyi Rih base in the Dnipropetrovsk region. On the same day, at the same airfield, Russians also recorded a decoy in the form of a Su-25 mock-up using a drone.

The next similar attack occurred on Monday, July 29, when a Su-25 at the Kryvyi Rih base was hit by a Lancet drone. This time, it likely wasn’t a decoy.

In the air, Ukraine suffered three losses during the observed period. On Tuesday, July 9, a Mi-8 helicopter from the 12th Army Aviation Brigade crashed between the villages of Dyachkove and Mizhhirya in the Poltava region. Russia claims to have shot down the aircraft. All four crew members were killed: Captain Yaroslav Lyubychenko, Captain Vitaliy Nekrasov, First Lieutenant Oleksandr Shemchuk, and Staff Sergeant Serhiy Potashenkov.

On Friday, July 19, another Ukrainian Mi-8MSB-V helicopter with the tail number "Black 160" was seriously damaged. The helicopter overturned during an emergency landing attempt in the Novoukrainka district of the Kirovohrad region.

The third tragedy was unrelated to combat operations. During a training flight on Saturday, July 27, a Skyeton K-10 Swift with the registration UR-KAI crashed. Yuriy Kapustenskyi, a first-year cadet at the National Air Force University in Kharkiv, died in the crash.

 Su-27 destroyed at the Myrhorod base on July 1st.

MiG-29 fighter struck by an Iskander-M missile at the Kryvyi Rih base on July 3rd.

On July 3rd, this decoy Su-25 was found at the Kryvyi Rih base.

Ukrainian Su-27 in an illustrative image.

Ex-Czech Mi-24 helicopter in Ukrainian service.

Captain Yaroslav Lyubichenko and Lieutenant Oleksandr Shemchuk, who died in a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter on July 9th.


Russian Losses

During the observed period, the Russian Air Force experienced another disastrous week. However, before that, on Friday, July 5, a Russian Mi-28 helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a field in the Azov district of Russia's Rostov region. This occurred during a massive Ukrainian drone attack. According to various Russian sources, the crew either wanted to avoid the drones (and possibly avoid being hit by their own air defenses) or the helicopter was directly hit by a drone. The helicopter was likely damaged, as the field caught fire after the emergency landing, although the extent of the damage remains unknown.

On Friday, July 19, a Su-34 fighter-bomber had to make an emergency landing after being hit by a surface-to-air missile. Despite severe damage, the crew managed to bring the aircraft to the nearest airfield. The incident occurred during a night combat mission at an altitude of 9 km, and fuel began leaking from the aircraft after it was hit.

Then came the aforementioned disastrous week. On Sunday, July 21, Ukrainian saboteurs struck the Tomilino base near Moscow. According to Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), they burned two helicopters, a Kamov and a Mi-28. Satellite imagery later revealed a burn site where Ka-27 helicopters usually stood.

On Tuesday, July 23, a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile from the 110th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The incident occurred near the village of Troitske in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region. The event was also recorded on video, and the Russian pilot successfully ejected.

On Wednesday, July 24, Ukrainian saboteurs struck again, this time destroying a Mi-8 helicopter at the Kryazh base in Samara, Russia.

On Thursday, July 25, a Russian Mi-28 helicopter from the 332nd Independent Helicopter Regiment crashed. Although the crash occurred near the village of Klenki in the Kaluga region, deep inside Russia, it was related to the war in Ukraine. The helicopter was returning from a mission to hunt down attacking Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border. It is speculated that the aircraft fell victim to friendly fire from its own air defense. Both crew members died in the crash.

On Friday, July 26, early in the morning, Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack on the Saki base in Crimea. One Su-30SM fighter jet from the 43rd Independent Naval Assault Aviation Regiment was destroyed, and two others were damaged.

On Saturday, July 27, a Su-34 fighter-bomber crashed in the Volgograd region of Russia. Both crew members ejected safely. The aircraft likely took off from the Marinovka base and was heavily used in attacks against Ukraine. Such intensive operations have led to significant wear and tear of the equipment and high stress on the pilots.

The last, and the most significant loss occurred on the final day of the observed period. On Wednesday, July 31, a Mi-8MTV-2 helicopter with the registration RF-34255 and tail number "Yellow 59" was hit on the ground in the Donetsk region by a Ukrainian missile (ATACMS or HIMARS). The helicopter belonged to the 6th Independent Special-Purpose Squadron of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya). It was loaded with wounded soldiers, and 20 people, including at least one crew member, died in the attack.

Skyeton K-10 Swift with registration UR-KAI, which crashed on July 27.

Yuriy Kapustenskyi in front of the UR-KAI, in which he died.

On July 21, two Russian helicopters burnt at the Tomilino base near Moscow.

Another Ukrainian sabotage attack took place on July 24 at the Kryazh base. A Mi-8 was set on fire.

The crash of a Su-34, which occurred on July 27.

On July 31, 20 soldiers died in the Russian Mi-8 helicopter that was destroyed on the ground.


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Tail End Charlie

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Unordnung – Late Versions of the Bf 109 G

The article comes from the issue 09/2024

Info EDUARD 09/2024, Air War in Ukraine - F-16s with Yellow-Blue Roundels
Info EDUARD 09/2024, Page 31
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09/2024
Info EDUARD 09/2024

INFO Eduard is a monthly scale model-historical magazine published in Czech and English by Eduard Model Accessories since 2010. The magazine is available for free on the Triobo platform and can be downloaded in PDF format. Eduard is a manufacturer of plastic models and accessories with over 30 years of tradition. Throughout its history in the plastic modeling industry, Eduard has become one of the world's leaders. Further details about the company and its product range can be found at www.eduard.com. You can subscribe to the INFO magazine and receive product information for free at: https://www.eduard.com/cs/info-eduard/

9/1/2024

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