F-16s Over Ukraine

Modern War Institute

John Amble

Government, News

4.7 • 798 Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian government began asking its international supporters to provide it with combat aircraft. By 2023, a number of NATO members had agreed to provide training on the US-made F-16 to Ukrainian pilots, and last summer it was announced that a number of F-16s would be provided to Ukraine. Now, the first batch of aircraft have arrived in the country and, according to reports, have already begun flying operational missions. But what role will they play and what effect might they have on the overall war? In this episode, John Amble is joined by retired US Air Force Colonel Mike Pietrucha, a veteran aviator and airpower scholar who has closely studied the war in Ukraine. He shares his insightful perspective on what the introduction of F-16s means for the war in Ukraine. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Defense counter air, offensive counter error, defense
0:05.2	oppression, close air support.
0:07.8	The F-16 does all of these things and does them all pretty well.
0:14.2	You've got a better look down radar than the Ukrainians have ever had before, and you've
0:18.4	got a good set of weapons.
0:25.8	The introduction of the F-16s is not going to change the nature of the war, but what it is doing is building a modern air force that will eventually, in terms of capabilities, outstrip
0:32.2	the Russians, even if it's smaller.
0:36.1	Hey, welcome back to the Modern War Institute podcast, brought to you with the very generous
0:40.5	support of the West Point class of 1974.
0:43.6	I'm John Ambo, editorial director at MWI, and on this episode we are discussing the much anticipated
0:49.5	recent arrival of F-16s in Ukraine.
0:53.3	Reports suggest that they have already begun flying operational
0:55.5	missions, but the F-16 is a multi-role aircraft, so what role are they most likely to play in
1:00.1	the near term? How different are the F-16's capabilities from those of, say, the MIG-29s and
1:05.4	Sue 27s already in the Ukrainian Air Force inventory? And most fundamentally, what is the F-16's likely impact on the overall war?
1:13.6	To discuss these questions, I asked retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Mike Petruca to join me on this episode.
1:19.6	He is a veteran aviator with experience in multiple fighter aircraft.
1:23.6	He has written extensively about air power, and he has been closely observing the war in Ukraine,
1:28.5	all of which makes him the ideal guest to explore this subject.
1:32.5	Before we get to the conversation, as always a few quick notes.
1:35.5	First, very special thank you to the West Point Class of 1974 for their generous support
1:40.5	to MWI. Second, be sure to subscribe to the MWI podcast on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode.
	...

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