Can’t wait to see what Ukraine can do with a bunch of F16’s. I’m pretty ignorant about the capabilities vs what they have now but I imagine it’s going to make a big difference even just having more planes.
The first capability jump will be the interoperability between the plane and the western weapons.
Some of the weapons (like the Harm missile) can only be used with limited functionality. But with F16 the weapon and plane can talk to each other and new features become available.
Additionally there are then .ore weapons that currently are not supplied by NATO that can also be supplied.
One thing that will come into play is far greater target acquisition range and thus operational safety. Their current planes need to get far closer to the enemy to identify and engage their targets than an F16 will have to. This of course increases their survivability as well as their utility in various roles.
No single weapon system or platform will drastically change this war. While the F-16 is a huge upgrade over what they have, it's no silver bullet. Just as with the Challengers and Leopards, they wil lose some F-16 once they go into service.
The main goal is to reduce those losses and every single crew member saved is a tiny victory in this horrible war. Survivability going up is a worthwhile upgrade for sure.
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