The US has equipped F-16 fighter jets that other NATO member states have provided to Ukraine with advanced electronic warfare solutions that other members of the military bloc have no access to, Ukrainian news outlet Defense Express has claimed.
Kiev was promised up to 80 of the warplanes last year by a number of NATO states, including the US, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden. The nations set up an ‘F-16 coalition’ to streamline deliveries and arrange pilot training.
In an article on Wednesday, Defense Express reported that the upgrades to the F-16s destined for Ukraine were made by the US Air Force’s 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron. The outlet went on to claim that the Netherlands and Denmark “did not have access to American advanced solutions.”
It noted, however, that “it is possible that it is only a matter of interest and the European partners simply did not show the appropriate initiative.”
On Monday, the Florida-based Air Force center of Electronic Warfare excellence released a statement saying they “recently collaborated with their Danish and Norwegian counterparts in support of the delivery of F-16s from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine.” The result is that “another EW capability is joining the fight for” Kiev.
According to the document, experts from the 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron reprogrammed electronic warfare systems on the F-16s in question. The statement added that the “system used on the soon-to-be delivered F-16s is one that the US doesn’t possess in its inventory.”
The center also said that it will receive “combat-tested data” from the Ukrainian Air Force, which may prove valuable in a “near-peer conflict.”
Electronic warfare – which includes multiple GPS-, radar- and communications-jamming techniques – has been widely used by both Ukraine and Russia during the conflict between the neighboring states.
In a post on his Telegram channel in early August, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the delivery of the first F-16s to the country, claiming they will bring “our victory closer.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has argued that the US-made warplanes are no “magic pill,” as is the case with other Western weaponry.