**Ukraine’s F-16 Fighter Jets Get a Boost in Evading Russian Missiles**
The Ukrainian military has received a much-needed upgrade with the creation of new mobile maintenance and operations modules for its fleet of F-16 fighter jets. Developed by the Come Back Alive charity foundation and Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, these modules will help the country’s air defense forces evade Russian ballistic missile strikes.
**A Game-Changer in Air Warfare**
The new mobile complexes are a significant improvement over previous systems, allowing Ukrainian forces to maintain and equip their F-16s on the go. This is crucial for evading Russian missiles, which can target both military installations and civilian areas. Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and Associate Fellow at RUSI, explained that the key to F-16 survival lies in not being found by enemy forces.
“The extensive amount of crew and equipment needed to maintain F-16s has up until now limited where they could be deployed,” Layton said. “But with these new mobile complexes, we can open up the use of less likely airfields, such as short civilian strips or remote parts of large military airbases.”
**A Shell Game**
The new system reduces the number of personnel needed to load a munition from 10-12 to just three, making it faster and more efficient. The mobile complexes also include two maintenance modules and another for mission planning. Taras Chmut, head of Come Back Alive foundation, emphasized that this project is aimed at adapting Western-supplied F-16s to the harsh realities of war in Ukraine.
**A Global Trend**
The Ukrainian system is not unique, as other countries have developed similar technologies to counter enemy air forces operating from peacetime bases. The Americans and Australians, for instance, have put effort into training their pilots to fly from remote island airfields. However, Anastasiia Yurchyshyna, spokesperson for Come Back Alive, noted that the Ukrainian system is still distinct, having adopted experience from its foreign partners.
**Ukraine’s F-16 Fleet**
In 2023, Ukraine and its allies created an aviation coalition to provide Ukraine with F-16 combat aircraft. The country has received its first shipments of F-16s from the Netherlands and Denmark in 2024. European nations have agreed to supply more aircraft to help modernize the Ukrainian Air Force as they transition to advanced F-35 fighter jets.
**A Larger F-16 Force**
While Ukraine has confirmed losing three F-16 jets in action, the country is receiving an increasing number of these aircraft. With the new mobile complexes, the dispersal tactic will keep these safe and allow a larger F-16 force to be built up. As Layton noted, this is crucial for keeping the F-16 fleet safe for the longer term, given the uncertain length of the war.
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