u.s. upgrades electronic warfare capabilities for ukraine's f-16 fighter jets
2024-08-31
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reference news reported on august 30washington (ap) — the u.s. air force said enhancements to the electronic warfare systems of f-16 fighter jets delivered to ukraine will provide a window for u.s. and allied forces to learn lessons from kiev’s use of the aircraft.
the u.s. air force said on the 26th that air force personnel stationed in florida worked with the danish and norwegian militaries overseas to reprogram these f-16 viper fighters, and the combat data of ukrainian pilots flying these fighters will be analyzed to improve the electronic warfare capabilities of the united states, ukraine and its allies. this feedback may come soon.
according to ukrainian sources, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky said on the 27th that with the help of f-16 fighter jets, the ukrainian army shot down missiles used by russia in a large-scale attack on the 26th. the ukrainian truth reported on the 27th that zelensky said on the same day that the f-16 fighter jets achieved "excellent results" and shot down "some missiles and drones." zelensky's statement was the first performance report on the performance of these fighter jets in the russian-ukrainian war since ukraine received its first batch of f-16 fighter jets in late july.
the u.s. air force's 350th spectrum warfare wing issued a statement on the 26th saying that one of the wing's five squadrons - the 68th electronic warfare squadron stationed at eglin air force base - led the reprogramming work, which was regarded as an "urgent priority" by the united states and its partner countries.
the wing said another electronic warfare "capability is being added to the fight in support of ukraine as denmark, norway and the netherlands conduct a third-party transfer of f-16s to ukraine."
the 350th did not specify how the fighters' electronic warfare capabilities were upgraded, but the wing said the upgrade used systems that did not exist in the air force's inventory, which posed challenges and the delivery time of the fighters was rushed.
airmen relied on data provided by denmark and norway and traveled overseas to "work with their allied counterparts to develop and test the system," the air force said. the goal is to integrate the aircraft with the ukrainian air force and make their electronic warfare systems effective against evolving russian threats, the 350th wing statement said.
electronic warfare can be used to disrupt gps navigation and communication systems, as well as enemy radar signals. the statement said ukraine and russia have been conducting electronic warfare through techniques such as electronic jamming and electronic spoofing. electronic spoofing is a tactic that sends false location signals or gps data to the enemy.
according to the associated press, belgium, denmark, the netherlands and norway have pledged to provide ukraine with more than 60 f-16 fighter jets in the coming months.
