Russia attacks the aerodromes of Ukraine: how to protect F-16 fighters from "Iskander"

The free expansion of Russian UAVs in the Ukrainian sky, the exposing of aviation park to inspect the enemy raises the question of the efficiency of the placement of Western fighters in Ukraine. The missiles will overload any land air defense system, new approaches to protection are needed, military analysts responded by focus. The Ukrainian airfields have recently become common goals of rocket attacks by the Russian army. On July 1, Mirgorod was hit by ballistic missiles in the Poltava region.

The target of 150 kilometers from the Russian border attacked the Operations and Tactical Complex "Iskander-M", located in the Kursk region. The Ministry of Defense of Russia has declared the destruction of five existing and damage to two repaired multi-purpose fighters of the fourth generation of Su-27. Before the blow over the aerodrome, the reconnaissance UAV flew for several hours, and he also removed the consequences of the hit. In Ukraine, the loss declared by the Russian side.

The monitoring public "Nikolaev Vanek" notes that the personnel - the whole, but some sides are damaged. The channel author criticizes Ukrainian commanders who hold open air aircraft during the scouting. "Nothing rams are learning. Already in the dandelion mistakes were made, and in Dovgintsev. Now - Mirgorod," he emphasized. The former speaker of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces Yuri Ignat confirmed "certain" losses of aircraft at a military airfield in Mirgorod.

The consequences of the impact, according to him, are not at all as described by the occupiers. "Aerodromes are daily under fire and observation of drones. Our people are trying to protect what is and strike back. I will not detail how incredible efforts it is done," he wrote on Facebook. Air Force is doing everything to resist and mislead the enemy: layouts and other means are installed, added the expection.

Strokes on Ukrainian airfields actualize the issues of protection of such long-awaited F-16 fighters. Judging by the promises of Western partners, they are preparing to pass them on in the coming months. The advanced aircraft will cover the sky over Ukrainian cities from the winged missiles and knock down bombers, carriers of managed airplanes.

In the construction of the Air Forces of Ukraine, it is possible to see fairly frequent reports on the attempts of the Russians to beat the airfield in Mirgorod. Focus, military analysts surveyed that they beat Old Council not so often because of the distance from the border from the Russian Federation and the inability to use "Iskanders". To get to Starkon, you need winged rockets and "daggers". One of the voiced cover options is the placement of F-16 at NATO countries.

Russia has warned that in this case it would strike on them and said in the White House planes in Ukraine. Obviously, the Armed Forces will have to resolve the F-16 security issue on Earth. The Armed Forces Air Intelligence Commander Oleksandr Karpyuk (Serg Marco) proposed to protect the planes with cheap anti -aircraft drones and new detection. In addition, the enemy drone in Mirgorod did not work with radio electronic struggle.

Justin Bronck from the Royal Institute of Joint Defense Research in a comment to Reuters said that the Ukrainian military would be forced to move expensive aircraft in the face of airmintives for air defense. "Any terrestrial air defense system can be overloaded if the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation release enough missiles for targets," the expert said. It is worth noting that Russian forces have been hunting for Ukrainian aviation since the beginning of a full -scale invasion.

During the fighting of the Armed Forces, they learned to hide the planes, says the executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation Dmitry Zhmaylo. "Aircraft often moves between airfields, it can often be seen on freeways. But as long as we feel a deficit of air defense, effective cover is not even worth talking about. The American complexes of Ratriot are needed," he said.

The reconnaissance of the Russian Army hang in the airspace of Ukraine for several hours also due to insufficient air defense. It is necessary to lift Ukrainian reconnaissance over the airfields and to establish satellite intelligence to identify threats, adds a leading researcher at the State Museum of Aviation of Ukraine, Avayexpert Valery Romanenko. According to him, it is almost unrealistic to protect himself from Russia's "Iskander" missiles.

Fighters should be placed so that the complexes do not reach them, at a distance of more than 500 kilometers from the borders and the front line. "The constant dispersion of F-16 fighters at aerodromes is the main secret of their preservation. Then one complex of Ratriot will be enough for their cover," the expert explains. Arched reinforced concrete shelters built in the USSR to protect aviation were quite expensive. They were erected only in border military districts.

The thickness of the hangar walls is 60 centimeters, they protected not only from cassette ammunition, but also from close breaks of fugas bombs, the analysts of the Defense Express portal say. There is no arched shelter for the Su-27 at the Air Base near Mirgorod. The reasons why they were not built after 1991 are known. At that time, there was not a bigger problem where to store aircraft, but to fly, what to fill the cars and pay pilots salaries, the authors noted.

There are no accurate information about the timing of deliveries, types and condition of the F-16 aircraft in Ukraine. It is known that the United States approved the departure of fighters from the Netherlands and Denmark in August 2023. On July 1, 2024, the Netherlands officially allowed to export 24 fighters to Ukraine. The first aircraft will pass to Kiev "in the near future", the required license for export has already been issued.

In addition to Denmark and the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have also announced their intention to transfer 12 fighters to Ukraine. The Norwegian government noted that Oslo would handle fighters "in close cooperation with allies" to Ukraine. Belgium is ready to take such a step since 2025, the number of aircraft transferred to Kiev depends on the receipt of new F-35, said the Defense Minister of Belgium Luvivin Dedonnder.