Ukrainian Air Force F-16 fighter jets are equipped with special pylons from the Danish company Terma providing aircraft protection from missile threats while retaining standard utility as a regular weapon station. During the Paris Air Show, currently taking place in Le Bourget, the company revealed a few interesting details about them, as reported by Flight Global.
Firstly, the company specified that the pylon used on Ukrainian fighters is the Pylon Integrated Dispenser System+ (PIDS+), and they had to get export permission from the United States. This clarification is important because Terma has a number of products that are visually similar to each other: PIDS+, PIDS+ FUM, and ECIPS+. The functionality they offer differs quite significantly, though.
Read more: Why Ukraine's F-16s Take Only Four Missiles With Nine Hardpoints Available
All these pylon-integrated solutions are designed to warn when the aircraft is irradiated by enemy radars and active radar seekers, and when a missile itself approaches at a dangerous distance using three AN/AAR-60 UV sensors. But PIDS+ and PIDS+ FUM have flares and chaff dispensers, while the ECIPS+ is equipped with the AN/ALQ-162(V)6 electronic warfare system instead.
The difference between PIDS+ and PIDS+ FUM is in the direction where the countermeasures are fired. The first version deployed them horizontally, which requires keeping the adjacent pylon to be empty. In PIDS+ FUM, it goes at an angle downwards, which allows weapons to be carried at all suspension points.
At the same time, this information does not rule out that some Ukrainian F-16s also fly with EW-equipped pylons from Terma. Earlier surfaced public photos of the fighters show smart pylons without flare dispensers, meaning those were most likely the ECIPS+. Furthermore, in Europe there's a practice of equipping F-16s with both PIDS+ (or PIDS+ FUM) and ECIPS+ simultaneously, so that all the needs for aircraft protection are completely covered.
Back to Le Bourget, while demonstrating its solutions, Terma stressed they had received confirmation of their combat effectiveness in Ukraine. That's where a second aspect came to light. Terma vice-president Europe defence Arjen Vos told the journalists in an interview:
"Sometimes we needed to change the configuration a little bit higher than the [previous] standard, where they [i.e. Ukrainians – ed.] wanted to add capabilities."
Here, Vos might be referencing the U.S. Air Force's earlier announcement of the EW systems reprogramming for Ukrainian F-16 fighters, carried out by the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing. These U.S. specialists updated the system based on real threats and their most up-to-date information on russian radars.
Alternatively, the Terma executive hinted that the pylons handed to Ukraine received some special additional upgrades to the countermeasure equipment, and their insides deviate from the standard for PIDS+ or ECIPS+ and other typical products highlighted in the company's catalog.
Still, Terma did not share any further details on how their solutions are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, only noted that the products confirmed their declared specifications and not a single pylon was returned. "It makes us proud that we serve these jets, because it all adds up in protecting them," said vice-president Arjen Vos.
Read more: Finally Official: F-16s in Ukraine – What's Behind the Strange Pylon and Golden Light?
