Ukrainian F16? Which type/block

[Hook]

Not AFAIK, no mainstream kits include them OOTB. Dutch F-16's had them as well, by the way.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[Fin]

Photos and videos of Ukrainian F-16 (in Ukraine) have been featured on various news sites today. For example:

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-finally-deploying-f-16-fighter-jets-says-zelenskiy-2024-08-04/

 

[Vex]

I see them, PIDS+!

I wonder who would be making the first ever AM set, RESKIT perhaps?

[Fin]

This article (in Romanian) has a clearer photo and the ceremony video that has several shots of the F-16s:

 

https://m.defenseromania.ro/kievul-confirma-ca-a-primit-primele-f-16-cate-f-16-ar-putea-fi-in-ucraina_629563.html

[Hook]

2 hours ago, Fin said:

This article (in Romanian) has a clearer photo

VisID searchlight and no parabrake, so ex-Danish, not ex-Dutch. 

[Vex]

Welp, looks like you can't make this thing OOB.

F-16 modeling has a long way to go until it can cover all these blocks and country-specific variants and upgrades.

[exdraken]

In English 

https://theaviationist.com/2024/08/04/heres-our-first-look-at-the-first-ukrainian-air-force-f-16-jets/

[Hook]

25 minutes ago, exdraken said:

In English 

https://theaviationist.com/2024/08/04/heres-our-first-look-at-the-first-ukrainian-air-force-f-16-jets/

Note that further down the page there are brake chute equipped examples shown. 

 

Those AMRAAMs must make the other side nervous. 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

[LanceB]

15 minutes ago, Hook said:

Note that further down the page there are brake chute equipped examples shown. 

 

 

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3865681-pressure-on-biden-to-supply-f-16s-mounts-ahead-of-ukraine-war-anniversary/

 

Polish aircraft with their insignia airbrushed out.  Not Ukrainian.

[CT7567]

15 hours ago, Hook said:

VisID searchlight and no parabrake, so ex-Danish, not ex-Dutch. 

For the pair behind Zelensky, one Danish and one TBD. The airframe to his left with camouflage netting draped over it is not Danish, if you know where to spot certain detail differences (prefer not to specify further).

[RAGATIGER]

On 8/4/2024 at 9:57 AM, Vex said:

I see them, PIDS+!

I wonder who would be making the first ever AM set, RESKIT perhaps?

Hi there

 

Well you all need to look here

 

https://air-graphics.uk/shop/ols/products/ac-144-f-16-terma-pylon-for-dutch-aircraft

 

AC-144 1/72 Scale Dutch Air Force F-16 Falcon TERMA Self Defence Pod Pylons.

Lovely masters by RetroKit and cast by Paul Lucas. These really are works of art.

Note* These pylons are only used by the Dutch Air Force. Other TERMA pods are used by Danish and Belgium F-16 which will be produced shortly

 

Regards

 

Armando

Edited August 6 by RAGATIGER
mispelling

[Duncan B]

On 8/5/2024 at 11:48 AM, CT7567 said:

For the pair behind Zelensky, one Danish and one TBD. The airframe to his left with camouflage netting draped over it is not Danish, if you know where to spot certain detail differences (prefer not to specify further).

Just throwing this in the mix, I'm not an expert on the F-16 though. Scabbed on IFF aerial shape looks the same (as opposed to the MLU versions), strategically placed camo net hides the most obvious identifier of course. 

 

 

Duncan B

[Hook]

23 minutes ago, Duncan B said:

Just throwing this in the mix, I'm not an expert on the F-16 though. 

That's an ADF - look at the raised platform under the chicken slicers and the actuator bulges on the vertical tail island.

 

Tail markings suggest AMI.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Edited August 7 by Hook

[Duncan B]

23 minutes ago, Hook said:

That's an ADF - look at the raised platform under the chicken slicers and the actuator bulges on the vertical tail island.

 

Tail markings suggest AMI.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

That's correct, now go look at the photo of the aircraft behind the President. (I choose that particular photo as it's taken from roughly the same angle as in the photoshoot in Ukraine).

 

Duncan B

[exdraken]

I do not see anything majorly interesting on that photos, apart that it is obviously a European Airforces F-16 AM with original 3 tone camouflage , with either Identification light or not not.

 

The PIDS+ pylon in interesting as is the different style, raised  (ADF style?) style ID plates/ bird slicers in front of the cockpit... so maybe some also come from somewhere else....

Jordan, Pakistan, US....?

[Duncan B]

17 minutes ago, exdraken said:

I do not see anything majorly interesting on that photos, apart that it is obviously a European Airforces F-16 AM with original 3 tone camouflage , with either Identification light or not not.

 

The PIDS+ pylon in interesting as is the different style, raised  (ADF style?) style ID plates/ bird slicers in front of the cockpit... so maybe some also come from somewhere else....

Jordan, Pakistan, US....?

Do any of the European AMs have the raised ADF style IFF scabbed on base? I am no expert as I have said but in all the photos I have looked at the European AMs IFF aerials (bird slicers) are a different shape from these 2 and are not scabbed on like these 2 (the ADF versions do look the same as these though). So are the 2 behind Mr Z actually ADFs (we can't see the base of the fin due to the oddly placed camo net hiding the fin and the outer pylons to tell if they actually have the PIDS+)? If they are ADFs then they didn't come from Denmark or the Netherlands, that's the point I'm trying to make. The other F-16s photographed (the one in the photo preparing to taxi and the 2 in the air) clearly are from some of the European partners, most probably Danish.

As I say I'm no expert on F-16s so could be totally wrong, just wondering why the camo net is required on the 2 behind the President when we all know what a Dutch or Danish F-16 looks like.

 

Duncan B

[Diego]

Here the serials of both F-16As: 

 

UA 80-3596 and UA 80-3599, both former RDAF jets: 

 

https://twitter.com/Fighterman_FFRC/status/1820168560720908335/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1820168560720908335|twgr^11a6cba99c95572f01cbfcaa59c7c52c39f7df6e|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twz.com%2Fair%2Ff-16-officially-in-ukrainian-service-self-protection-pods-included

 

Edited August 7 by Diego

[exdraken]

Bird slicer differences:

https://aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0286b.shtml

 

[Bozothenutter]

If ADF's....Italian?

[Hook]

9 minutes ago, Bozothenutter said:

If ADF's....Italian?

Or Portuguese. Or even ex-ANG.

[exdraken]

4 hours ago, Bozothenutter said:

If ADF's....Italian?

All Italian F-16s were returned to the US 10? Years ago!

[Bozothenutter]

1 hour ago, exdraken said:

All Italian F-16s were returned to the US 10? Years ago!

Shows what I  know.......🤣

[exdraken]

10 hours ago, Bozothenutter said:

Shows what I  know.......🤣

2012 they were retired it seems!

you can't know everything! just the important stuff you need to know....

 

 

[Duncan B]

23 hours ago, Diego said:

Here the serials of both F-16As: 

 

UA 80-3596 and UA 80-3599, both former RDAF jets: 

 

https://twitter.com/Fighterman_FFRC/status/1820168560720908335/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1820168560720908335|twgr^11a6cba99c95572f01cbfcaa59c7c52c39f7df6e|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twz.com%2Fair%2Ff-16-officially-in-ukrainian-service-self-protection-pods-included

 

That's 2 of the 6 that were allegedly delivered, These did a fly past while 2 more were on the ground parked behind the President (the 2 that were partially covered with camo nets that have the bird slicers that look like the ADF versions and not the MLU versions).

 

Duncan B

[Duncan B]

On 8/7/2024 at 7:57 AM, Hook said:

That's an ADF - look at the raised platform under the chicken slicers and the actuator bulges on the vertical tail island.

 

Tail markings suggest AMI.

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

 

22 hours ago, exdraken said:

Bird slicer differences:

https://aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0286b.shtml

 

 

And that is the point I was trying to make in my posting the photo of the Italian F-16, these two are more likely to be ADFs so couldn't have come from Denmark or the Netherlands (unless some of the MLUs had this type of bird slicers?). The 2 aircraft behind President Z both have the ADF version bird slicers and the camo net has been placed so that we can't see the distinctive ADF fin (but I bet you it is there). I note that only one of them has the spotlight but that isn't a very difficult thing to remove. Note that the landing lights are still in the original position on the main u/c legs (MLU on nose gear door), note the shape of the individual aerials (different from the MLU versions).

 

 

I think these 2 are ADFs and the reason for the camo netting is so that there are no awkward questions about who supplied them being aimed directly at the US (or have they already stated that they have directly supplied Ukraine with F-16s?).

 

Duncan B