Ukrainian F-16s track Russian air defense systems - Forbes
In addition to countering UAVs and dropping precision bombs, Ukrainian F-16s perform tasks to accurately detect Russian air defense systems using their self-defense system.
This is reported by Forbes, Censor.NET reports.
It is noted that among the thousands of F-16s around the world, there are only a few specially equipped for reconnaissance - with underfuselage cameras or radar installations. It is currently unknown whether Ukraine has any such aircraft.
Ukrainian F-16s are equipped with the Pylon Integrated Dispensing System and the Pylon Integrated Systems electronic warfare system: PIDS and ECIPS. The latter has passive defenses, including the AN/ALQ-162 jammer to defeat radars on the ground and the AN/AAR-60 missile warning system to launch passive defenses.
"The warning system connects to the electronic warfare management system of the Danish company Terma, which itself connects to a display in the cockpit showing where enemy radars are located in relation to his aircraft. If Ukrainian F-16 pilots are performing electronic reconnaissance missions, they are likely to rely heavily on the Terma control system," the article says.
Thus, the F-16s conduct reconnaissance flights, determining the location of Russian radars by their emissions, and then land. Then, intelligence analysts can calculate fresh data when planning strikes.
"When we summarize all this, we plan flights for further actions to defeat the enemy," said one of the pilots.
