When Volodymyr Zelensky Celebrated the F-16's Arrival in Ukraine, He Was Accompanied By Two Decoy Jets
The F-16s at Zelensky's Aug. 4 ceremony were old, unflyable Air Defense Fighter models
When Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky celebrated the arrival of ex-European F-16s in Ukraine on Sunday, two of the single-seat, single-engine, supersonic fighters sat parked behind him—powerful reminders of the F-16s’ potential to revitalize Ukrainian air operations as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds into its 29th month.
But there’s every reason to believe those two F-16s were non-flying decoys. They lacked stenciling—safety markings and serial numbers—sported sun-aged canopies and seemingly had empty bays where their 20-millimeter cannons should be.
Most tellingly, the antennae on their noses—parts of their “identification friend or foe” radio transponders—were the wrong type.
The 85 or so F-16A/B Mid-Life Update jets Ukraine is getting from Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have IFF antennae that protrude directly from the F-16’s nose. But the F-16s in the background in Zelensky’s ceremony had IFF antenna that protruded from a plate attached to the nose.
That plate identified the ceremonial F-16s as ex-U.S. Air Force F-16A Air Defense Fighter models. The other main tell for an F-16 ADF—a unique lump at the base of the tail that marks a relocated actuator—was obscured by camouflage netting during Zelensky’s event.
The F-16A/B ADF was a version of the early-1980s-vintage F-16A/B that, modified to fire radar-guided air-to-air missiles, briefly served in the air-sovereignty role with U.S. Air National Guard squadrons. The 270 ADFs mostly flew domestic air patrols, and retired from U.S. service by 2007.
Did the United States donate to Ukraine old F-16 ADFs for ground-instructional use—or to act as decoys? The Ukrainian air force extensively deploys fake and grounded airframes as decoys, parking them on the tarmac at front-line airfields in order to draw Russian drones and missiles away from active jets.
In anticipation of the air force inducting the F-16, Ukrainian technicians began building fake F-16s. It’s possible the Americans helped out by shipping long-stored ADFs.
To be fair, there were other ADF-users, including Jordan and Thailand, but it seems likelier the United States would donate old F-16s.
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