Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, shared in an interview with ArmyInform that the recent Ukrainian delegation's visit to the United States has resulted in several collaborative defense projects.
Specifically, he mentioned the "modernization of the aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," though without any details regarding the aircraft types these upgrades will be applied to, the implementation timeframe, or the types of weapons or on-board equipment expected to be "modernized."
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Moreover, at first glance, it is even difficult to imagine in what direction new projects for the modernization of aircraft for the Armed Forces can advance. Especially after the stories about the adaptation of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters and Su-27 attack aircraft for carrying AGM-88 HARM missiles and JDAM-ER guided air bombs, and integration of Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise land attack missiles into the arsenal of the Su-24M, which all looked jerry-rigged to both for Ukrainian and American mass media.
If we try to find out what are still possible options for aircraft modernization based on open-source data, too many variables make things confusing. Still, there are a few variants worth discussing.
Taurus and F-16 "Upgrade"
To begin with, reports at the end of November hinted at ongoing talks with Western partners about the prospective modernization of F-16s, yet to be delivered to Ukraine.
This upgrade may involve installing a more powerful onboard radar, enabling these aircraft to utilize "more powerful weapons," as mentioned by Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova. On the other hand, this statement was not confirmed by any other sources.
Meanwhile, in October 2023, MBDA Deutschland estimated that it would take up to 1.5 years to adapt the Taurus cruise missile for F-16s committed to Ukraine, and only up to 6 months for the Su-24M aircraft, which the country inherited from the Soviet Union era. The very fact of the existence of such calculations shows that there may be different ways for Ukraine to tweak with the F-16.
Is it Possible to "Attach" the AIM-120 to the MiG-29
In March 2023, there were reports that the United States was supposedly working on the possible integration of air-to-air missiles into Ukraine's MiG-29 fighter jets. In theory, this would enhance their capabilities in air combat against russian aviation.
However, this initiative remained nothing but a concept, with no further progress indicated in open sources since March 2023. Moreover, right after the news in March, Defense Express analyzed the suggested way of "adapting the MiG-29" for AIM-120 missiles and questioned the efficiency of doing so.
Spoiler: in order to make it a reality, MiG -29 needs to be redesigned from scratch, and it would be much easier to just give Ukraine F-16s. That is exactly what happened, with F-16 commitments starting August 2023.
Although maybe it's all about a different kind of missile, and suddenly Ukrainian MiG-29s will appear carrying AIM-9 air-to-air missiles under the wing.
What is Still Left Unadapted for Su-24M
To put it briefly, on the one hand, visual evidence supports the fact that some Ukrainian Su-24M attack aircraft were adapted for carrying and launching Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles. Yet, none have been observed with JDAM-ER guided aerial bombs or AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles so far.
The reasons for that remain uncertain; it could be due to technical complexities in the adaptation process or a deliberate choice to keep the Su-24Ms tailored for those tasks with a more direct impact on the course of the war against the russian federation, such as attacks on russian Black Sea Fleet HQ or sinking submarines.'
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