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The delivery of the F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine is said to be imminent. However, the aircraft would have disadvantages against Vladimir Putin’s Russian F-35.
Kiev – They will soon be used in the Ukraine war: the F-16 fighter jets that Kiev is receiving from NATO supporters Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway for the defense of Ukrainian airspace.
Ukraine gets F-16 fighter jets – Russia offers the MiG-35 in the war
The purpose is to defend against the invasion by Russia, which violates international law. The F-16 Fighting Falcon from the USA is a multi-role combat aircraft. This means that the fighter jet can fight enemy fighter jets with air-to-air guided missiles as well as ground targets with air-to-ground missiles. The F-16 can also drop guided and unguided bombs on static targets such as buildings.
Moscow also has such a multi-purpose combat aircraft, but Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin apparently only uses it sparingly in his insidious attack on his western neighbor. He is talking about the RSK MiG-35. But what is the difference between the two types? What do they have in common? Which is better?
F-16 fighter jets and MiG-35 in the Ukraine war: Air duels between Ukrainian and Russian pilots are rare
To put it in context: direct duels between fighter jets are rare from the Ukraine war. Pilots generally prefer to avoid these scenarios and usually fire their mostly infrared-guided medium-range air-to-air missiles from a considerable distance in order to then move themselves out of the dangerous range for counterattacks.
In the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for example, a video went viral on X (formerly Twitter) showing a pilot in a Ukrainian MiG-29 spectacularly pursuing a Russian plane that was flying higher up in the sky. From the cover of the houses in a village, the Ukrainian pilot accelerated his MiG-29 incredibly quickly at the lowest possible altitude. The MiG-35 is the successor to the MiG-29.
F-16 Fighting Falcon | RSK-35 | |
Design country | USA | Russia |
Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin (since 1993) | RSK-MiG |
First flight | 1974 | 2007 |
Commissioning | 1978 | 2019 |
Length / Wingspan | 14.52m / 9.45m | 17.16m / 11.41m |
Empty mass (weight) | 8,273kg | 12,000kg |
Top speed | Mach 2.02 (2142 km/h) | Mach 2.3 (2445 km/h) |
F-16 of Ukraine: Putin’s Russian MiG-35 is faster and newer
What remains to be said is that Russia’s MiG-35 is significantly newer than the American F-16. The US model has been in use since the 1970s and was even involved in the Vietnam War. The MiG-35, on the other hand, only entered service with the Russian Air Force in 2019 after a long development period, and the Russian Air Force has so far been just as reluctant to use Putin’s new Su57 stealth fighter.
The MiG-35 is also a twin-engine multi-role combat aircraft, while the F-16 is a single-engine aircraft. The RD-33MKB engines of the MiG-35 have thrust vector control, which gives the Russian aircraft extremely high maneuverability. It is also said that the MiG-35 is faster than the F-16, at least in terms of maximum speed.
![A MiG-35 fighter aircraft of the Russian Air Force. (Archive photo)](https://www.merkur.de/assets/images/34/646/34646000-ein-mig-35-kampfflugzeug-der-russischen-luftstreitkraefte-archivfoto-2hjMC94G1EBG.jpg)
F-16 of the Ukrainians and MiG-35 of the Russians in comparison: armament is similar
The MiG-35 can reach top speeds of Mach 2.3 (2445 km/h), while the F-16 can reach an estimated Mach 2.02 (2142 km/h). The difference is less in the armament, which is similar. Just a comparison: The F-16’s Sidewinder and AMRAAM air-to-air missiles have proven to be just as powerful as the Russian air-to-air guided missile Vympel. The range of both the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the Vympel is over 100 kilometers.
The warhead of the Vympel R-27, at 39 kilograms, is heavier than that of the AMRAAM medium-range missiles (22.9 kilograms), but if a guided missile hits an aircraft and explodes, it will hit. A few kilos more or less are not decisive. The difference is clearly that the electronic aircraft devices on board – collectively known as avionics – of the MiG-35 are simply more modern and therefore probably better than those of the F-16.
Vladimir Putin’s fighter jet: MiG-35 has modern avionics
The US news magazine Newsweek writes of a “state-of-the-art avionics suite, including a helmet-mounted display system (HMDS), a modern glass cockpit and an advanced infrared search and tracking system (IRST).” All of this makes the fighter pilot’s job easier. According to the report, however, only the most modern versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-16E/F, have a display system for the pilot in the helmet, which allows him to see the scenario clearly. The catch: the Ukrainians are only supposed to receive the older version F-16A/B from Denmark (19 aircraft), the Netherlands (up to 42 aircraft) and Norway (five to ten units), whose avionics in the cockpit are significantly older.
Newsweek also emphasizes the “advanced” Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar of the MiG-35, which improves target detection and tracking capabilities. The problem for Putin: for years, production of the fighter jet at manufacturer RSK MiG has not progressed as desired, apparently due to delivery problems with components. The number of units that can actually be deployed is therefore limited. The greatest effect of the F-16, on the other hand, is likely to be to threaten inferior (and often shot down) Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft. And in the question of whether the Russians even want to get involved in possible air duels with the Ukrainians’ American fighter jets or whether they will avoid Ukrainian airspace more often. (pm)
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