American F-16s sent to Ukraine for special role — Defense Express

According to Defense Express, even though the donors of F-16s to Ukraine are the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium, and the United States has distanced itself from the transfer of the aircraft, Washington has nevertheless done so. In the official video of the delivery, experts noticed an interesting detail on two F-16s.

The planes behind the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy differed from the two flying and armed aircraft. Western experts, specifically, noticed the friend-or-foe antennas located in front of the cockpit, as mentioned by Defense Express.

“Such a sharp antenna shape was used in the first F-16As, and the presence of a searchlight on the right side identifies this aircraft as an F-16A ADF, a special modification for air defense that was transferred to the U.S. National Guard. The second aircraft on the "static display" also has a similar antenna shape but no searchlight.

Additionally, both of these fighters lack automatic 20-mm cannons and technical inscriptions. This suggests that these two F-16s were handed over by the United States as decoys. The U.S. remains virtually the only candidate for this role, as aircraft in this version were previously exported to Jordan and Thailand and leased to Italy,” the publication reads.

Defense Express noted that showcasing these two during the celebrations posed no risk to real fighter jets. Using F-16 fuselages as decoys is highly effective because the difference from actual aircraft is so minimal that identification requires proximity. From a satellite, drone, or even binoculars, these old non-flying F-16s will look like the real thing.

“These F-16 airframes will be accompanied by modern inflatable models of the aircraft. Russia's goal will be to target Ukrainian F-16s, so using methods and tricks to disguise the fighters, their locations, and maintaining information silence are crucial for their effective use,“ the article stated.

A real F-16 and an inflatable model