F-16s Are About To Arrive In Ukraine. What Is Their Combat Record?

F-16s Are About To Arrive In Ukraine. What Is Their Combat Record?

• F-16s have an impressive record with 76 aerial victories, most from Israel.
• There was at least one confirmed air-to-air kill of an F-16 by a Greek-French Mirage.
• The F-16’s historical success may not translate against modern Russian jets in Ukraine.

Anticipation is building as F-16s will enter Ukraine for the first time in the coming weeks. After being in service for more than 50 years and undergoing many upgrades, the F-16 remains one of the world’s most popular and successful fighter jets. Much has been said about these American-built jets, with claims that no F-16s have been lost in an air-to-air battle and that they are game changers. But how true is this? What is the combat history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon?

An outstanding record

It is clear the F-16 Fighting Falcon has enjoyed an impressive career in air-to-air combat. According to information gathered by MigFlug, the F-16 has scored 76 kills while five have been lost to ground fire and one has been shot down in an air-to-air kill. It also points out that any plane can be destroyed on the ground – and that has nothing to do with how good the plane is.

F-16 Falcon scorecard (per MigFlug)

• Aerial victories: 76 (mostly Soviet aircraft)
• Air-to-air losses: 1 (by Mirage 2000)
• Lost to ground fire: 5 (all in US service)

Of the 76 kills, the vast majority came from Israeli service. Israeli F-16s shot down 6 enemy aircraft during the Syrian border clashes between 1979 and 1986, 44 enemy aircraft in the 1982 Lebanon War, and 3 enemy aircraft in the 2006 Lebanon War. This means of the 76 kills scored by the F-16, 53 were by the Israelis.

Of the remaining 23, Pakistanis are recorded to have contributed around half (11x) during the Soviet-Afghan War and in later border clashes. The remaining F-16 aerial victories were scored in No-Fly Zones (2x for the USA), the former Yugoslavia (5x for the USA and 1x for the Netherlands), the Venezuelan Coup of 1992 (3x), and Aegean Sea Clashes (1x).

The five F-16s shot down by ground-based air defense were during the Gulf War (3 shot down) and over former Yugoslavia (2 shot down). All five 5 F-16s shot down were operated by the US Air Force.

Meanwhile, the F-16’s larger cousin, the F-15 (a dedicated air-superiority fighter), has even more stellar records. MigFlug states that F-15A/C/IS Eagle has scored 102 air-to-air victories, with none lost to air-to-air fire or shutdown. The newer Strike Eagle has scored one air-to-air kill, and three have been shot down by ground fire (none have been lost in an air-to-air engagement). Most of these air-to-air victories were scored by the Israeli Air Force and by the US Air Force during the Gulf War.

Related

A Look At The Fleet Of The Ukraine Air Force

Thanks to a tip-off from NATO and new advanced weapons, the Ukrainian Air Force has survived two years of war with Russia.

No air-to-air kills?

One of the claims about the F-16 is that it has never been lost in an air-to-air kill. However, this is now known to be false as there was at least one confirmed air-to-air kill against an F-16. Since Greek independence in 1821 (and arguably before under Ottoman rule), Greece and Turkey have been rivals.

Greece and Turkey were both admitted into NATO in 1952, but their impressively large militaries are mostly built to face off against each other. Cyprus and the Greek islands are zones of confrontation between the two NATO member states. In 1996, it was reported that a Turkish F-16 fighter had crashed during one of the periods of escalation with Greece (called the Imia/Kardas crisis). It should be noted that Greece denied it shot the F-16 down. The Greek pilots only reported the Turkish F-16 had caught fire, and they saw a parachute.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Turkey acknowledged a Greek French-made Mirage 2000 had shot the F-16 down with an air-to-air missile after it allegedly violated Greek airspace. This is the only confirmed air-to-air kill against an F-16. In 2014, the Turkish English language newspaper, the Daily Sabah, reported the Turkish government was mulling filing a lawsuit against Greek officials.

Additionally, the Russian-based website Top War claims more F-16s were shot down, including one in 1987 in Pakistani service. It is possible more F-16s have been shot down in air-to-air combat, but these engagements have never been confirmed.

Related

Is Russia Finally Using Its Much-Hyped 5th Generation Su-57 In Ukraine?

Ukraine has finally confirmed Russia is using Su-57s in the war while the British say they have been used for almost two years.

Historical performance vs. the future

It is important to remember that when discussing the history of the F-16s’ performance, it is just that: history. It is not the future but rather events that took place in a different time and place. The F-16s have an impressive track record of facing off against old Soviet aircraft, but in Ukraine, they will not be facing off against old Soviet aircraft.

They will be up against the most modern Russian jets and an impressive air defense network. The F-16 may be a venerable aircraft, but it is no fifth-generation fighter (especially those older models being donated to Ukraine). According to the Oryx blog, at least 62 F-16s have been pledged to Ukraine (although more may eventually come from other countries like Greece).

The F-16 jets Ukraine may be getting may be capable, but they are old. After all, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium are retiring them in favor of more modern fifth-generation fighters. These are also not the most advanced F-16s. They are the older Block 15 or 20, not the latest Block 70/72 (although they may have received upgrades throughout their lives). Time will tell if they are able to continue their impressive past performance and defend the skies over Ukraine.