How Ukrainian F-16s could unravel Russia | Defence in Depth

In battle, a numerically smaller force can use deception, speed and fluidity of action to disorientate and ultimately unravel their enemy

tmg.video.placeholder.alt AeI7w0EaY7Q

Since the start of the full-scale invasion last year, neither side has been able to dominate the sky, which says as much about the weakness of the Russian air force as it does about the tenacity of Ukraine’s. 

Although that is unlikely to change any time soon, Kyiv would have been delighted last weekend when, after a whirlwind tour of European capitals, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, secured promises of dozens of modern fighter jets for his air force. 

The F-16 is the Swiss army knife of fighter planes. Equipped with a doppler look down-shoot down radar, big wings for maneuverability and a massive bubble cockpit, the pilot has brilliant visibility all around, including most of what was directly underneath the jet; and with a terrific engine can also fly high enough - where the air is thinner so the missiles go further - to shoot down other planes at long ranges.

Another brilliant aircraft that may be on the way to Ukraine is the Swedish Gripen, after Mr Zelensky’s recent visit to Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister. 

The Gripen is a magnificent jet, designed specifically to counter Russian SAMs and fast jets by flying extremely low and having a very capable electronic warfare suite incorporated onto the aircraft and not carried as an optional extra. 

It can also operate from dispersed bases, including rough airstrips or even motorways, which will be helpful. 

From the very first hours of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Air Force has had to operate from austere locations, well away from their normal and highly maintained bases that Russia has repeatedly hit.  

In today’s Defence in Depth video analysis, Dominic Nicholls, the associate editor, explains how, in the face of a layered air defence network that even Nato commanders admit would be a trouble to punch through, Ukrainian pilots operating Western jets could still unravel Russia on the battlefield.

Find more episodes of Defence in Depth on The Telegraph’s YouTube channel.