How Russian Jets, From Indo-Pak, Caucasus To South China Sea, Have Been Outflanked By US Fighters?

US’ F-16 Falcon fighters seem to have repeatedly outgunned Russian jets including Sukhoi Su-30 fighters — be it the battle in the highly contested South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the South Asian region between India and Pakistan, or the resource-rich South China Sea between China and Taiwan.

China Finds Answer To US’ B-21 Raider – The Mysterious JH-XX Stealth Fighter-Bomber – WATCH

The twin-engine Su-30s, despite being a 4++ generation combat aircraft, has time and time again been somehow thwarted by the 4th generation F-16s when it comes to an actual battle in the air. 

While the all-weather multi-role two-seat Su-30Ms operated by a host of countries is the most advanced version of the original Su-30 jet produced during the Soviet era, the F-16s have been upgraded to their latest Viper variants.

Officially known as the F-16V Block 70/72, the “Viper” variant is stated to be the most advanced F-16 in the market at the moment, with the fighter sporting a new AN/APG-83 AESA radar, along with upgraded mission computers and cockpit improvements.

Experts have confirmed that Taiwan, which earlier this year, concluded a 62-billion contract with the United States to buy 66 F-16s, will acquire the newly-made jets. The US Air Force has already started the process of installing new ‘5th-generation’ SABR AESA radars in the F-16Vs for the Taiwanese Air Force.

According to Mark Rossi, director, SABR programs, Northrop Grumman, “The radar enables F-16 pilots to detect, track, identify and target a greater number of threats faster and at longer ranges from outside the threat envelope. This upgrade will keep the multirole F-16 fighter relevant and capable for decades to come.”

The Taiwanese single-engine Vipers are being developed at Lockheed Martin factories in Greenville, South Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas, and are likely to join the Taiwanese fleet which already boasts 140 F-16 fighter jets.

Taiwan vs China

As Taiwan has been consistently threatened by China and claimed it as an inalienable part of the country, Beijing has repeatedly carried out war drills near Taiwanese air space and intimidated the tiny island nation.

File:Taiwan F-16 Debate - Flickr - Al Jazeera English (3).jpg - Wikimedia  Commons
F-16 Jet

Usually, China’s military uses the Su-30MKKs and other indigenous, re0engineered jets to intimidate Taiwan, however, the tiny island nation has been fearlessly dispatching its US-origin F-16 jets to thwart the Chinese warplanes.  And the presence of an F-16 Viper, the most advanced variant of F-16, could possibly change the dynamic completely in favor of Taiwan.

The Viper variants integrate their advanced capabilities that help it to interoperate with fifth-generation aircraft like F-35 stealth fighters.

In addition, the fighters also possess the ability to be deployed in the suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, air-to-air combat, while also being capable of carrying out maritime interdiction missions.

Azerbaijan-Armenia War

In the aftermath of the month-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Yerevan reportedly refused to field its Su-30s fearing that the Turkish F-16 Vipers in command of Turkey would be used to take down their Russian jets.

Turkey, which has around 245 F-16s, had sent a contingent of around six fighters to Azerbaijan during a joint exercise earlier this year, out of which a few still remained deployed within the country to be used against Armenia.

While both the Su-30s and F-16s are very agile and excellent dog-fighters, the fact that the American fighters are lighter gives it an edge. The F-16s are faster than the Russian jets with the Falcons being able to attain speeds of Mach 2 in comparison to Su-30s maximum speed of Mach 1.7.

India-Pakistan Conflict

The two fighters had a confrontation last year when the Indian Air Force (IAF) came face to face against the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) and the F-16 jets again demonstrated why they were superior to Russian-origin jets.

Read More

Exit mobile version