Partners’ Tactics Failed: F-16 Pilots Forced to Adapt Combat Rules to the Realities of the War in Ukraine
https://militarnyi.com/en/news/partners-tactics-failed-f-16-pilots-forced-to-adapt-combat-rules-to-the-realities-of-the-war-in-ukraine/
Posted by Mil_in_ua
5 Comments
*excerpt* ““But the biggest challenge for us was the enemy air threat, which kept us from getting to the target. We worked in a group of three planes and forced the enemy to launch two missiles from different directions. As a result, we gave our strike plane the chance to destroy the target and let the whole group return safely to the airfield—back to our families and squadron,” the pilot recalled about one such mission.”
Fight or flight? 😅
Yeah, right..
>To avoid enemy attacks, Ukrainian pilots use maneuvering tactics at low altitudes. This makes it harder for enemy radars and missile guidance systems to lock onto and track them, because the ground creates a lot of background noise and blocks clear radar signals.
Low level flying needs to be an essential part of training of all air forces – and by low I do really mean very low. In Britain, there are three main Tactical Training Areas (TTAs) where military aircraft can fly as low as 100 feet at designated times. Occasionally the public complain but that just shows the general public don’t really know much about modern warfare.
Even Denys (who is usually very good and well informed) didn’t understand why in early videos Ukrainian helicopters were flying at very low altitudes (less than a 100ft). He learnt as a commercial airplane pilot and that’s the opposite skill set because the mantra of an airline pilot is safety first.
Because nato tactics haven’t really been developed for near peer combat (not exactly the case with russia) and drone saturated warfare?
US tactics for F16 assume air superiority. That’s what America, even this past incursion into Venezuela, demands and achieves. Without that, we wouldn’t likely send in F16s.
Ukraine’s experience will help pave the way if the US ever fails to achieve full control.
The situation would be so much different if Ukraine had even a single F-35 to help with targeting for all the F-16s it has. Those F-16s are terribly handicapped without modern sensors, which is why they have to fly low to avoid being hit and fly close to actually hit things.