There are rumors, still unconfirmed, that Russian forces may have destroyed as many as 4 or 5 Ukrainian F-16s. The Russian Defense Ministry stated as part of yesterday’s update that “the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a group strike by long-range precision weaponry, Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile, and attack unmanned aerial vehicles at the [Ukrainian Armed Forces] AFU airfield infrastructure.” It gave credence to earlier reports and rumors.
The “Two Majors” reported on Sept. 26, Thursday morning ET, that the strike hit the Starokostiantynov airfield in the Khmelnytsky region and that the Russians employed four Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles at once. “The facility is one of the main locations for the transferred American F-16 fighters,” the Two Majors wrote, “as it is able to provide better stealth and protection for the aircraft. This is precisely why the Kinzhals are used to destroy the facility.” The facility apparently has hardened aircraft shelters from Soviet times.
The actual effect of the strike won’t be known until satellite and other imagery appear. “And yet, the new strike on the airfield shows consistency in the destruction of at least the infrastructure for basing American fighters.” As such protected areas are destroyed, “hiding the F-16s will be much more difficult.”
On a related note, the Netherlands bade farewell to its F-16s, as they’ve now been fully replaced by F-35 stealth fighters. Twenty-four of the retired jets are earmarked for Ukraine. Some of them have reportedly already arrived in Romania. “F-16s pledged to Ukraine, including the already delivered ex-Danish Air Force F-16AM/BMs, are notably obsolete Cold War era variants,” Military Watch Magazine notes. “These are not considered to have any remotely viable chance in air-to-air combat against 21st century Russian fighters with phased array radars and modern jamming systems, but are expected to be useful as delivery platforms for long-range missile strikes into Russian territory....”
