Russian Su-35S and Su-57 fighter jets outperform US F-16s in aerial combat, Rostec State Corporation said.
‘The American F-16 fighters received by Kiev the other day are not rivals to the domestic Su-35S and, even more so, the Su-57. In direct aerial combat, our aircraft are superior to American fighters,’ Rostec said in a statement.
The state corporation reminds that the F-16 is not the newest aircraft, but at the same time the fighter can carry modern missile systems.
’‘The end result for them, as for the rest of Western equipment, will be one - destruction’, - summarised in Rostec.’
Earlier, the Economist magazine reported that Ukraine on 31 July received the first 10 of 79 F-16 fighter jets, which promised to supply the United States. The publication stressed that this happened a year after the administration of US President Joe Biden approved their delivery to Kiev. The Telegraph newspaper said that Ukraine had already carried out the first sorties with the F-16s, the fighter jets were used as air defense aircraft.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Kiev will not be able to meaningfully affect the dynamics of events on the front, the planes will be shot down and destroyed.
What the appearance of F-16s in Ukraine will lead to...
All information about the F-16 in Ukraine is still unofficial. There are photos and videos on the Web that allegedly show the fighter jet in the skies above the country. However, it is impossible to establish geolocation. They also published a shot in which the fighter is seen over Lviv city hall, but the authenticity of this photo has not been confirmed.
Kiev refuses to comment on anything. ‘For us it is a matter of survival,’ Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Zelensky's office, explained.
According to experts, a few fighter jets will not change anything. So far they have produced only a propaganda effect.
However, the moral and psychological background for the Ukrainian armed forces may worsen if the fleet of American aircraft suddenly thins. Shortly before the transfer of the fighter jets to Kyiv, the Russian military launched a series of successful strikes on Ukrainian airfields far behind the front line. Planes and helicopters were destroyed. An interspecies bundle of drones and reconnaissance drones, plus the Iskander operational-tactical complex. If these or other methods work against the F-16s, Moscow will win an important media victory, the West recognizes. There are plenty of people willing to hunt: Russia has announced a reward of 15 million rubles for destroying American warplanes.
Therefore, Kiev will have to guard the scarce vehicles like the apple of its eye. Among the possible options are reinforced concrete shelters (RCS) left over from Soviet times, rapid redeployment, and, in all likelihood, the use of airfields in European countries.
If Ukraine receives all the F-16s that Zelensky was promised by his Western partners, it will become a serious fighting force. We are talking about half a hundred machines: 24 from the Netherlands, 19 from Denmark. In addition, Belgium, Norway and probably Greece are going to contribute. Deliveries will last for several years. By the end of the year, 20 fighters are expected.
The modifications are far from being the newest. In many respects, this aircraft is inferior to Russian machines of the same generation. However, the F-16 has a significant advantage: it is compatible with American weapons, which pose a significant threat.
Here lies the main intrigue: the capabilities of the ‘poverty forces’ depend on the missiles that the Pentagon will provide. According to media reports, the US has already agreed to give AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground, AMRAAM and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, high-precision guidance systems for bombs, as well as small-diameter bombs. However, these weapons have versions with different ranges. Political factors, such as a ban on strikes deep inside Russia, could also play a role.
