F-16 is enough for one battle
“Wait until the enemy gets the planes. Then draw a red line."
Sun Tzu "The Art of War"
Sun Tzu "The Art of War"
Kyiv has shown interest in many types of combat aircraft. Among which are the following.
Dinosaur of the cold war - anti-tank attack aircraft A-10 "Thunderbolt".
French Mirage 2000. Despite its age, capable of using many types of modern high-precision weapons.
The same age as the Mirage is the Tornado fighter-bomber with variable sweep wing.
Lightweight multi-purpose "Gripen" Swedish production.
Sea salt-eaten F/A-18 Hornet.
There was also a cunning plan to get Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.
And finally - the choice in favor of the F-16.
Due to limited combat qualities and / or technical deterioration, all aircraft requested by Kiev are not of high value to the air forces of NATO countries. Only under such humiliating conditions can Ukraine expect to receive Western aircraft.
It didn’t take long for the F-16s to be completely toy-sized.
The image of an anti-tank attack aircraft with a seven-barreled gun was the first to appear on the pages of the media. Slow and archaic, this would look great in the hands of Ukrainian "savages".
"Thunderbolts" will not be able to cover the need for multi-role fighters. Supply quotas are limited. Under the current conditions, Kyiv is unlikely to focus on such "niche" strike aircraft. It is no coincidence that the Thunderbolt attack aircraft was never exported - none of the US allies could afford such highly specialized equipment.
For the same reason, the transfer of the F-15C is seen as unlikely. Such a large and difficult to maintain fighter, designed exclusively for air combat.
The yellow-blue dream of the Bandera regime was and remains the Swedish SAAB JAS 39 "Gripen". The lightest fighter of the 4th generation with a takeoff weight of 14 tons. One engine, minimum cost per flight hour. With the full functionality of a multirole fighter.
The small number of "Gripenov" cancels any talk about the supply of such aircraft. The transmission of the latest modification of the Griffins (JAS 39E) is beyond fantasy. the only newsclose to reality - the command of the Swedish Air Force promises to acquaint Ukrainian pilots with the capabilities of modern aviation.
One of the most complex and expensive modern fighters, the Eurofighter Typhoon, was not on the list by chance. "Typhoons" of the first series (Tranche 1) as of 2023 are considered in the West to be limited combat-ready units that require expensive modernization. Despite the fact that they are the most worn out in technical terms - after two decades of patrolling in the skies over Afghanistan and Iraq.
In the current situation in Kyiv, they saw the possibility of obtaining discounted Typhoons.
While experts expressed various assumptions, the fate of Bandera's Luftwaffe had already been decided behind the scenes of big politics.
The logical choice was the "Fighting Falcon". Deliveries of other aircraft were discussed in order to create noise and draw as many participants into the game as possible. And to amuse the pride of Bandera.
Many factors played in favor of the F-16
At the moment, every fourth fighter in the world is an F-16 (4 units were produced, adopted in 600 countries).
The F-16 is relatively cheap and simple (only the Gripen is cheaper).
The design of the F-16 contains a minimum of military secrets. For more than 40 years of operation, all the features of the F-16 have long been disclosed.
Despite its small size, the F-16 is a fighter and strike aircraft with a maximum payload of about 7 tons (weapons, additional fuel tanks, sighting equipment). "Falcons" of later modifications are capable of using almost the entire arsenal of Western aviation weapons. The F-16 quality data will be of particular importance for the APU.
For all the fame of the Falcon, in all materials for the general public, a clear and clear wording is missing - what is the main feature of the F-16?
Yes, a light fighter. Universal. Colleague and partner for the "senior" in the rank of F-15. During his career, he underwent a series of extensive upgrades.
Modernizations?!
Do you already hear restrained laughter among the audience of VO visitors?
The ugly duckling grew into an adult vulture
Short-range missiles "Sidewinder" with heat guidance. Six-barreled cannon in the root of the wing. Bombs-"cast iron" series MK.80. And that's it.
The most shameful was the restriction on night flights - the Falcon could only be used during daylight hours!
The year was 1980 on the calendar, and the "newest" fighter had no prospects in this form.
The deficiencies described were not something like childhood illnesses. The F-16 was deliberately designed in the ugliest way. Exactly as it was in the terms of reference - a cheap tool for hunting the MiG-21.
Participants in the Lightweight Fighter Program (LWF) underestimated the development of Soviet aviation too much. By the end of the 70s, the main enemy in the air was the MiG-23. Capable of destroying an F-16 from twice the range of the Sidewinder missiles!
And in the distance, the MiG-29 was already jogging ...
The Pentagon launched an urgent program to bring the stillborn aircraft to life, MSIP (Multinational Staged Improvement Program). Changes to the design of the F-16 made continuously for ten years. Starting from the very first day. Various versions of the fighter were produced in parallel on different assembly lines. Others were upgraded already in the process of service. All ideas that could improve the fighting qualities of the F-16 were immediately tested in practice.
Engineers threw everything on the drawing board and watched which technology would stick.
This is what distinguished the MSIP of the F-16 fighter from other "phased" and planned modernization programs for combat aircraft. All the hectic changes represented a struggle with the consequences of erroneous ideas about the role and significance of the "light fighter". The experience of the Vietnam War turned out to be completely unacceptable in the conditions of the 1980s.
Realizing that with the Sidewinder missiles alone, the hunter would quickly turn into a victim, by 1981 F-16 aircraft had armed medium-range missiles with a radar guidance head. The Falcon was returned to its main and most important weapon, without which a 4th generation fighter is unthinkable.
This version received the designation "Block 15".
In 1984, the next "Block 25" appeared. The radar has changed, now its characteristics are not inferior to the radars of the Soviet MiGs. The weapon control system made it possible to use the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile system. Under the wing of Block 25, for the first time, a guided weapon for destroying ground targets, the Mavrik missile, lit up.
1985 "Block 30/32" - fighters of these versions could suppress air defense systems using AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. By this time, General Electric managed to squeeze out part of the orders for engines from Pratt & Whitney - this is how the double index (30/32) appeared in the designation.
The performance of the F-16 with the General Electric engine was initially limited. The engines were unable to develop full bench thrust. This is how the concept of “small” and “large mouth” arose, directly indicating a change in the size of the air intake.
According to American pilots, the Block 30 with its "big mouth" is the best version of the F-16 for close combat. By this time, the F-16 had not yet had time to noticeably stout from the upgrades, but had already received an engine with an increased thrust value. However, this may turn out to be just the subjective opinion of a retired Air Force pilot that he flew just such a fighter ...
1989 Then there was "Block 40/42" with the speaking name "Night Falcon". Suspended containers with sighting and navigation equipment (LANTIRN) made it possible to fly at low altitudes, find and hit targets at any time of the day. The aircraft's arsenal was greatly expanded with laser-guided bombs.
F-16C Block 40 at Aviano Air Base, 1999
The wreckage of this aircraft in a museum in Belgrade
For ten years, a universal fighter-bomber of the 4th generation has grown from the "dummy" - it has caught up and surpassed many of its peers.
The Falcon was revived by a copious infusion of funds. Otherwise, we would now be talking not about the F-16, but about some F-26.
Finally, if General Dynamics had originally created a fighter with such a reserve for the future, then in 1974 a prototype of a completely different aircraft would have taken off.
The "Block" numbered 1991/50, which appeared in 52, did not contain high-profile changes. A number of deficiencies that arose due to a sharp jump in combat capabilities in the previous decade were corrected. The Harpoon anti-ship missiles and relatively cheap guided bombs with a JDAM body kit appeared in the arsenal.
The final chord of the MSIP program.
With such a set of combat qualities, the F-16 continues to fly to this day.
Procurement of F-16s for the US Air Force ended in 2005. All subsequent versions were designed for foreign customers who wanted to get the most out of the 4th generation light fighter with one engine. Rare "Block 60" for very wealthy eastern emirs. And drowned in the glamor of high technology "Block 70/72".
With the advent of AFAR radars, all talk of a light fighter has lost its meaning. The price tag of Block 70/72 rushed far beyond the $100 million mark.
Only the take-off weight remained light - it is still limited to values within 20 tons.
However, in Kyiv they can be calm. Bandera "Luftwaffe" does not shine to receive the latest "Block 70/72".
If the F-16 supply decision is approved, the further course of events and possible threats will become clear by the numbers of "blocks".
The Block 15OCU fighters in service with Belgium and the Netherlands, the more advanced Block 25, Block 30 ... or maybe Block 32 ... The brand of the engine will not be of fundamental importance to us. Only the first digit of the modification is important. As you can see, this group of falcons includes aircraft with completely different capabilities.
According to the laws of evolution, fighters belonging to the 40th and 50th blocks pose the greatest threat. Capable of operating around the clock and using a wide range of precision weapons.
The author does not undertake to predict a specific version. Kyiv has a chance to receive multi-purpose F-16s of any of the listed modifications, born in the period from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.
Removed from storage or taken directly from the combat strength of the US Air Force and European countries. Exactly as it happened with the supply of ground military equipment.
Finally - a small technical blitz.
Pros and cons of the F-16
One could get the false impression that the designers of General Dynamics were desperately stupid. But it's not. The creators of the F-16 did a good job with vortex dynamics. They were the first to introduce a fully digital electric remote control system, and also experimented with an integrated layout.
In short: an integral layout means that when calculating the lift force, all elements of the aircraft structure cannot be considered in isolation from each other.
The illustration shows a visual explanation of vortex dynamics. The air vortices created at the root of the wing significantly improve the efficiency of the control elements. A sign of all modern fighters. In this case, the effect is largely weakened due to the absence of a second keel. The F-16 is the only fourth-generation fighter with a normal aerodynamic design and a single-fin vertical tail.
Pilots have been arguing about the convenience of the control knob on the armrest for half a century, while the F-16 flies. But everyone recognizes the successful design of the canopy, which provides excellent visibility.
There was a certain potential in this "dummy" - that's why the F-16 was fiddled with for so long, trying to bring it to life.
And of course - crazy engine thrust. At the time of its birth, the F-16 had the largest thrust-to-weight ratio of any combat aircraft. In the process of modernization, the normal takeoff weight of Block 50/52 increased by almost a quarter - in comparison with the original. However, the thrust of the Pratt & Whitney and Journal Electric engines also increased by almost a third. Without afterburner, engines develop 8 tons of thrust. Afterburner - almost 13 tons.
“If we had an engine like the Pratt Whitney, we would design a single-engine fighter.” Such a statement was made by a representative of the MiG company after meeting with the F-16. At least, according to the legend that arose after the MAKS-1995 air show.
To believe the legends or not is a personal matter for everyone. But the single-engine layout was one of the reasons the F-16 became a worldwide bestseller.
Flight with damage to one of the two engines is a rarity in a combat situation. Customers of the single-engine F-16 prioritized lower cost and daily operating costs. This made it possible to acquire a larger number of fighters and subject them to more intensive exploitation.
The fact that the F-16 is far from the best representative of the 4th generation was no secret. Customers chose the F-16 as the best option available.
Overseas, all the shortcomings of the F-16 were so lightly treated, because there was an F-15 in service. And also because the F-15 and F-16 fly on the same engines. And, as you know, "blood is denser than water." Such a kinship with a senior in rank once allowed the F-16 to bypass its main competitor, the F / A-18, to which the Sokol was inferior in many combat qualities.
The favorite is determined. Despite this, there are scenarios with the supply of other types of obsolete fighters. "US does not object to the transfer of decommissioned Australian F/A-18s."
mindful history with French tanks, who paved the way for the Leopards, the author admits the possibility of supplying a certain number of European fighters, for example, the Mirage-2000.
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