French military source: Russians monitor airfields where Ukrainians will receive F-16s
F-16s need perfectly smooth runways, so Russians are recording where repairs are taking place
The first F-16 fighter jets are expected to arrive in Ukraine from NATO member states very soon after months of training and pilot education. However, Russian troops are also preparing to confront the Ukrainian F-16s, Le Figaro writes.
According to a French army source, the Russians are monitoring Ukrainian military airfields, and there are growing fears that these long-awaited aircraft will be attacked and destroyed shortly after their arrival.
In July alone, at least three airfields were attacked: Myrhorod, Kryvyi Rih and one in the south of Odesa region.
Moscow claims to have destroyed five Ukrainian Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets, as well as a radar and valuable Patriot air defence launchers.
Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed this, and the air force has claimed on social media that the destroyed aircraft and air defence system were actually decoys that cost Russia several expensive Iskander missiles.
Decoys or not, Ukraine's allies and many Ukrainians themselves fear that the defences of the US F-16s are inadequate.
According to Justin Bronk, a senior aviation and technology researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, the Ukrainian air force has so far relied heavily on ‘dispersal operations’ to protect its fighters from ground attack.
Aircraft and equipment are regularly moved within or between bases, he explains, so ‘if Russia launches an air strike, it will probably just hit a runway or empty grass.’
But such methods are not enough if Ukraine wants to protect its valuable fleet of Western aircraft from Russian missiles.
The F-16s need perfectly smooth runways, free of rocks and other small debris, if they are not to run the risk of engine failure.
‘Any attempt to improve the infrastructure of existing bases will be visible to ‘Russian observers, whether from satellites or on-the-ground reconnaissance,’’ says Professor Bronk.
Today, Russia has reconnaissance drones such as Zala, Supercam and Orlans that can send real-time images from Ukraine, avoiding Ukrainian electronic detection and jamming systems.
Drone control unit commander Oleksandr Karpiuk says the drones can now be programmed to fly long distances in radio silence.
So far, there is no indication that the F-16s have arrived in Ukraine, although Ukrainian aviation expert Anatoliy Khrapchynsky suggests that Russian forces are already ‘probing’ Ukrainian airfields as they believe they may be there.
This month, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the transfer of F-16s was already underway from Denmark and the Netherlands. NATO countries have promised Kyiv about 65 F-16s.
Once they arrive in Ukraine, they will double the number of fighters Ukraine currently has, including MiG-29s and Su-27s, all of which are Soviet-era.
Background. As WP wrote, the F-16s will arrive in a few weeks in Ukraine and will bolster air defence – but only 6 pilots are expected to complete training this summer.
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