The F-16 crash could have been caused by damage from missile debris

F-16 missions to intercept Russian missiles involving air defence batteries require precise coordination. They are complicated by the fact that the Ukrainian military does not use IFF in such operations.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Breaking Defence.

As noted in Breaking Defence, missile interception missions involving fighter jets and air defence batteries operating together require precise coordination. According to many sources, this coordination is complicated by the fact that neither fighter jets nor ground-based air defence units use IFF in these operations.

In the early days of the full-scale invasion, when both the Russian and Ukrainian sides used the same aircraft, there was concern that one side's aircraft could be confused with the other. This practice of not using IFFs has been continued with the F-16s currently in service.

However, one version of the F-16 crash is that the fighter jet inadvertently flew through a cloud of debris created by the successful destruction of one of the Russian missiles flying at it. These fragments of the destroyed missile could have damaged the engine and other parts of the aircraft. This could have caused the F-16 to disintegrate and killed the pilot before he could eject.

According to Breaking Defence's sources, this version is becoming the most likely scenario, given that ‘earlier in the war, we lost four other fighters for the same reason - foreign objects that hit the air disabled the aircraft.’

‘That's how we lost two MiG-29s and two Sukhoi. It is quite possible that this F-16 has now become aircraft No. 5. The previous losses did not attract such attention because they were not expensive, modern fighters in the class of the American jet,’ the source said.

The publication noted that Ukraine usually gives a clear description of the reasons for the loss of aircraft, but there are several incidents when the description given is vague and corresponds to what the source described.

Because the F-16 is equipped with a wireless computerised FCS connected to a controller on the side of the aircraft, it requires a different, almost delicate style of piloting than the models Ukraine has previously had.

The newspaper writes that the lack of experience with the F-16 could have contributed to a situation where a pilot not used to the intricacies of flying an American aircraft failed to react in the same way as he would have reacted to another aircraft.

IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) is a system used in the military to automatically recognise objects as ‘friends’ or ‘foes’. It allows the armed forces to quickly identify their aircraft, ships or ground objects to avoid accidental attacks on their own forces.

The basic principle of IFF is to transmit a signal to which only a ‘friendly’ object responds, confirming its ally status. IFF systems are widely used on aircraft, ships and other vehicles, which ensures safety in difficult combat situations.

Author - Olena Madiak, 21/09/2024