Drones, artificial intelligence, cyberattacks… everything in the Ukraine conflict is based on electronic warfare, or basically the ability to detect and nullify enemy attacks in advance. But for an obvious budget issue, Ukraine did not always have the upper hand. Now, a US Air Force unit has reprogrammed the F-16s sent by Denmark, and equipped them with new electronic warfare capabilities.
Those responsible are the members of the 68th Electronic Warfare Squadrona small unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The upgrade will allow them to survive Russian jamming and other electromagnetic attacks.
Both the Ukrainian and Russian armies rely heavily on the unrestricted access to the electromagnetic spectrum to achieve their objectives, both sides have continually resorted to electronic warfare through techniques such as jamming and spoofing throughout the war to gain control of the aforementioned spectrum.
Air Force engineers first had to understand an unknown electronic warfare system, since The system of the F-16s transferred from Denmark and the Netherlands is not the one used by the United StatesBut with data provided by Denmark and Norway, the unit was able to understand the new system and then sent personnel abroad to develop and test the system with allies, according to a news release.
“This is not our standard operating procedure – explains the squadron director in a statement – The fact that the team was able to decipher the system in two weeks, go into country with a partner to develop the best mission data file is unheard of and is thanks to the talent here in the squadron and the wing.”
The unit will receive data collected from the Ukrainians during combat and use it to improve its electronic warfare capabilities, according to the Air Force.
“Now that Ukraine has been brought on board as an official foreign military sales case for the 68th EWS, the unit will provide reprogramming capabilities based on feedback from the Ukrainians,” the statement concluded. “Traditionally, sales of military equipment to other countries are derived from training environments; this case will provide combat-proven data to improve capabilities.”
Both sides have used electronic warfare capabilities such as jamming and spoofing during the war between Ukraine and Russia. Russian electronic warfare devices have shot down many American precision weapons sent to UkraineWhile the reprogrammed electronic warfare system on Ukrainian F-16s won’t be able to withstand all threats, it will help the aircraft survive.
“When we talk about a conflict between equals, it is necessary that All coalition partners operate from the same playbook “We have to do this to achieve spectrum dominance,” said the 68th EWS director, who was not identified by name in the news release. “An F-16 with a reprogrammed pod will not achieve air dominance on its own, but it can give you a zone of air superiority for a moment to achieve an objective that has strategic importance and impact.”
Ukraine received its first batch of F-16s this summer from Denmark and the Netherlands. Belgium and Norway are also planning to transfer aircraft to Ukraine, and in total the country could eventually receive more than 60 aircraft from Western allies.