Ukraine's F‑16s face elevated risks amid paused US support

American support for Ukraine also impacts weapons that were not provided by the United States. An example is the F-16AM/BM aircraft supplied by Denmark. A few weeks ago, a photo of one of these aircraft laden with weapons and equipment circulated globally.

Under one of the pylons of the Ukrainian F-16, an AN/ALQ-131 ECM pod, intended for electronic warfare (EW), was visible. Although its early version appeared in the 1970s, the pod has proved amenable to upgrades and is continuously developed, providing protection against an ever-widening range of threats.

The withdrawal of American support (which is expected to resume after talks in Saudi Arabia) means that although the F-16AM/BM can still take to the skies and the ECM pod will still function, new updates containing threat signatures and jamming methods might not be supplied by Americans. As a result, Ukrainian pods will not be able to "learn" new threats.

If Americans do not resume support, the risk of flying Ukrainian F-16s will increase because electronic warfare over Ukraine is very intense. The equipment used by both sides is constantly evolving, requiring continuous adaptation of jamming systems.

As Forbes notes, although the safety of the Ukrainian F-16 pilots has been reduced, the Ukrainian air force will not be defenseless. Thanks to the Dassault Mirage 2000-5F aircraft supplied by France, which are equipped with French electronic warfare pods ICS Mk 2 or ICS Mk 3, a level of protection remains.

Although mounting French EW pods under American aircraft is currently not possible, according to Forbes, it may become feasible in the long term, as demonstrated by the Belgians, among others, in the 1990s. Ukraine may also eventually integrate non-U.S. EW equipment with its F-16s.