Russia is setting sophisticated “traps” to ambush Ukrainian fighter jets, one of Kyiv’s top pilots has revealed.
Major Vadym Voroshylov has told how every day it is becoming harder to keep the Russians at bay using outdated Soviet aircraft as he pleaded for the West to send F-16 fighter jets.
Major Voroshylov, who in a rare break from the front line met with The Telegraph, warned: “The Russians change tactics all the time, so the war isn’t stable. They make traps. They will send up a Russian jet alone, tricking the Ukrainian pilot into thinking there is only one jet. Then, two or three more will appear either side of it, effectively swarming the Ukrainian aircraft.”
As Ukrainian pilots continue to fly Soviet-era MiG-29s, he stressed they can do no more than “hold the battlefield”. Wiping out the Russians, who fly the Sukhoi Su-35s modern air superiority fighter jets and Su-34 bombers, has proved difficult.
“Right now, we can only hold the enemy but with F-16s we could control the airfield, as well as the seas and the ground to protect infantry,” he said. “We need more modern aircrafts to be better than the enemy.”
Ukraine has appealed to obtain the US-made F-16s, of which there are over 3,000 operating worldwide, before. The combat-proven, multi-role aircraft, has been upgraded and enhanced over the years, including some with fifth-generation technologies such as advanced radar.
However, Joe Biden recently said he did not want to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighters for now, which prompted Volodymyr Zelensky to urge Rishi Sunak to give Ukraine RAF Typhoons.
In February, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Defence to investigate which of Britain’s planes could be given to Ukraine, although Mr Sunak cautioned that it could take three years to train a pilot.
This time frame is something Major Voroshylov and his colleague Colonel Volodymyr Lohachov, chief of the aviation department of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, dispute.
“Less than six months are required to train on such a jet,” Col Lohachov said.
“As long as we continue to wait we will lose more pilots. We had a list of the most advanced pilots who could be trained on F-16s and unfortunately, some of them have already been killed in action.”
In recent weeks, Eastern European Nato member states have begun transferring old Soviet fighter jets for the first time, with a promise from the West that newer models will be provided to backfill.
Slovenia and Poland have both sent MiGs from their ageing stock, but some are only useful for spare parts. Despite a lack of promises over more advanced Western fighter jets, the Ukrainian pilots remain optimistic.
Intensive English lessons
Most advanced pilots and engineers are already undergoing intensive English lessons so that they can understand their instructors if the time ever comes to be trained on western jets. This is despite hints from London that Ukraine would not receive any British fighter jets until after the war.
This is not something Col Lohachov wants to entertain. “To be effective in the air, jets should have modern radars and air-to-air missiles,” he explained.
“The radars on Russian jets are about four times better than what we have and they can see much further. As well, the Russian missiles are significantly more capable than our Soviet ones. It is getting more dangerous. Sometimes we can’t even see that the Russians have launched missiles, which is very dangerous for pilots.”
Major Vadim Voroshylov sends a message to the Russians – Paul Grover/The Telegraph
He explained how Russia has the capability to launch an attack from 200km away from the front line, whereas Ukraine has to be much closer to the enemy in order to shoot, which is far more dangerous.
The pilots’ message is stark: “Getting F-16s would help us survive and keep more people alive.”
At just 29-years-old Major Voroshylov, who goes by the callname “Karaya”, has become the most famous fighter jet pilot in Ukraine. In part, it is due to his huge following on social media but also after he was celebrated by President Zelensky following an incident while out on patrol which forced him to eject from his jet which he directed into a field to crash safely.
He was flying in the evening when the Russians launched a number of drones. In order to get a better radar look at the drones, he flew closer and after taking out two of them, the second explosion destroyed his windshield, forcing him to eject.
For Major Voroshylov, this is a prime example of why Ukrainians need better aircraft.
“If we want to strike Russian jets we have to get much closer to the front line and fly at a low distance, which is very dangerous,” he said. “The Russians have 40 air bases and over 700 aircrafts and helicopters altogether and they are more modern than our jets.
“We are working on the question to get Western jets because what we currently have is not enough to be effective on the battlefield.”
Asked if getting Western fighter jets will mean the end of this war, the pilots are practical. “No one can say that,” Major Voroshylov said. “But it will help.”
Credit” Yahoo News