According to information provided to Business Insider by former US military pilots, the sky over Ukraine could become one of the most dangerous battlefields for F-16 aircraft. It is noted that these fighters will face advanced Russian air defense systems, in particular the S-300 and S-400.
"The Russian arsenal of surface-to-air systems is more modern and sophisticated than those the F-16 has faced in past conflicts," the article reads.
Russia also has a "huge park" of Su-35 and MiG-31, armed with long-range R-37 long-range missiles. The Russian Federation can detect American fighter jets hundreds of kilometers away.
"The Russians are bringing high-end equipment to the war in Ukraine," while previous F-16 adversaries in the Middle East, such as Iraq and Syria, "generally used outdated Soviet equipment and were probably not as well trained."
When Ukrainian F-16s take off, they can immediately find themselves within range of Russian air defense systems.
