Ukrainian Air Force: F-16 will increase the efficiency of the HARM missiles and guided bombs operations

The effectiveness of the operations of American HARM missiles and JDAM bombs, which Ukraine has already received, would be much better in coaction with F-16 fighters.

This was stated in an interview with the Donbas Realii project by Brigadier General Serhii Holubtsov, chief of aircraft of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Multifunctional F-16 can perform air defense missions, combat air targets, as well as strike at ground and surface targets.

The fighter is able to use almost the entire line of aviation weapons of NATO countries.

“The weapons we received have somewhat improved the efficiency. Moreover, we did not have HARM missiles or anti-radiation missiles at all. They helped turn the tide against their air defense. But the effectiveness of their implementation would be much better with F-16. They have a special receiver that provides information to the pilot about which enemy’s anti-aircraft missile systems works and at which azimuth. That is, the missile is launched precisely on the working SAM,” said Serhii Holubtsov.

He added that it would increase the effectiveness of the use of weapons at times.

According to him, the same applies to other aircraft armament, for example, gliding “smart” bombs (bombs with JDAM kits, which turn ordinary aircraft bombs into guided ones).

“We program them (JDAM bombs) on the ground, while F-16 fighters would allow this programming not to perform on the ground, but to work on targets that would be detected during flight, it would also raise efficiency.

And this applies to almost the entire line of armament, high precision I mean, which NATO-type aircraft pilots use, not just pre-programmed on the ground, but depending on the situation in real time,” said Holubtsov.

AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) is a high-speed anti-radiation missile capable of aiming at high-frequency radars. The HARM missile calculates the location of the target and can even hit the inactive radar. The latest modifications are designed to hit the radar with changes in operating frequencies.

The AGM-88 HARM is designed for use together with American and some European combat aircraft. Since recently, it has also been capable of launching Soviet-made fighters in service with the Air Force of Ukraine.

The use of JDAM kits for aircraft bombs by the Ukrainian military became known in March. This was shared by Yurii Ignat, spokesman for the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In December 2022, the Pentagon announced that it would provide Joint Direct Attack Munition kits to Ukraine.