Although the United States does not supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter aircraft itself, this country plays an important role by training pilots and providing compatible weapons. This aspect should not be underestimated, as the lion's share of the impact that F-16 brings to the battlefield lies in its capability to deploy powerful standoff armament with long attack range.
Therefore, we should pay particular attention to the recent article from The Wall Street Journal about the weapons Ukrainian F-16 will be armed with, as these will decide the functionality and limits of the new combat asset. With that in mind, Defense Express notes down the key points with commentary.
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First of all, the article reveals the list of weapons planned for delivery: AGM-88 HARM anti-radar, JDAM-ER and SDB precision-guided glide bombs, AIM-9X and AIM-120 air-to-air missiles. All of these items are already used by Ukraine in one way or another. While the anti-air missiles can only be deployed by surface-launch systems like NASAMS, the rest of these weapons have been integrated with Soviet-type aircraft operated by the Ukrainian Air Force. Even the Small Diameter Bomb.
Though we should note that the use of the AGM-88 HARM, for example, from an F-16 will potentially have greater effectiveness, due to the fact that the missile is fully integrated into the fighter without, albeit inventive, kludge of an iPad and other much deeper changes.
But there is one critically important item lacking in this list. Omitting it doesn't necessarily mean it won't be supplied, but the lack of mention is quite telling. This crucial item is the AGM-158 JASSM cruise missile, which Ukraine and even U.S. experts are actively urging to provide to complement the F-16.
For a reminder, the JASSM is a subsonic cruise missile with a range of 370 km in the AGM-158A version, and under 1,000 km in the AGM-158B JASSM-ER variety. The weight of the WDU-42/B penetrating warhead in both versions is the same: 450 kg. The guidance system and other features, like stealth technologies, are similar to British Storm Shadow.
Currently, the supplies of Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG missiles from stocks and production cannot cover Ukraine's demand in the war zone, making the transfer of JASSM a pressing issue to ensure the ability to keep delivering precise long-range strikes on strategic targets in the russian rear.
Another essential factor is the source of supply and financing. American officials believe that the Pentagon has a limited stockpile of airborne weapons and production capacity, although they should be sufficient for Ukraine's current needs. The European segment of NATO has even less, but yet they say it's the European partners who have to "pool their finances to buy air-launched weapons from the U.S. to send to Ukraine."
Quite possibly, this signal to European partners is just an attempt to inflate the price. After all, the USA has been steadily and for a long time transferring the very same air-launched weapons to Ukraine that it currently uses to destroy ground targets from Soviet aircraft, as well as the AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles for NASAMS air defense systems. Still, the situation where the supply of missiles depends on the availability of funds in Europe at the prices set by the U.S. under the deficit is hardly a good sign for Ukraine.
Lastly, an additional nuance has appeared regarding the speed of F-16 delivery to Ukraine. The first countries to send their fighters will be Denmark and the Netherlands, expected to finish the process this summer. Once done, Belgium and Norway will hand over theirs.
However, Denmark will transfer its F-16s in separate batches over eight months. As noted, 19 out of the total fleet of 44 aircraft will be slated for Ukraine. Side note, another 24 Danish F-16s were contracted by Argentina, which is due to the reluctance of the United States to let China enter the South American defense market.
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