Before deploying the aircraft, a U.S. Air Force unit modified Ukrainian F-16s with updated electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and intends to reprogram them using combat data.
The 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron (EWS), a small unit stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, was entrusted with updating the EW system on F-16s given by Denmark and the Netherlands to combat Russian jamming and other electromagnetic attacks.
U.S. Air Force engineers had to become acquainted with an unfamiliar EW system, as the system on the F-16s transported from Denmark and the Netherlands is not utilized in the United States. According to a press release dated August 26, 2024, the unit was able to understand the new system after receiving data from Denmark and Norway, and then sent personnel abroad to develop and test the system alongside partners.
“This is not our standard operating procedure,” said the 68th EWS director. The team’s ability to learn the system in two weeks and then travel to a partner country to create the best mission data file ever seen is unprecedented, and it demonstrates the skill in the squadron and wing, he added.
According to the United States Air Force, the unit will collect data from Ukrainians during conflict and utilize it to improve its electronic warfare capabilities.
Since Ukraine has been formally designated as a foreign military sales (FMS) supplier for the 68th EWS, this unit will offer reprogramming capabilities based on Ukrainian feedback. Traditionally, FMS input is received during training; but, in this situation, combat-tested data will be provided to increase capabilities, according to the statement.
During the Ukraine-Russia war, both sides deployed electronic warfare capabilities such as jamming and spoofing. Russian electronic warfare has destroyed a large number of precision-guided munitions supplied by the United States and sent to Ukraine. While the reconfigured EW system on Ukrainian F-16s will not be able to counter every threat, it will improve the aircraft’s survival chances.
“When you’re talking about a near-peer conflict, you need all of your coalition partners to operate with the same playbook so you can achieve spectrum dominance,” said the director of the 68th EWS, whose name was not disclosed in the press release. “One F-16 with a reprogrammed pod won’t achieve air dominance alone, but it may give you a pocket of air superiority for a moment’s time to achieve an objective that has strategic importance and impact.”
This summer, Ukraine received its first batch of F-16s from Denmark and the Netherlands. Belgium and Norway also plan to deliver aircraft to Ukraine, and in total, Ukraine could eventually receive more than 60 planes from Western allies.
