Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF)
Ukraine’s fighter force – lessons learned from combat
The Russia-Ukraine war has seen the Ukrainian air arm mainly countering cruise missile and drone attacks, while air combat against Russian fighters was carried out only in the opening days of invasion. Alexander Mladenov looks at the lessons learned from these operations
Ukraine’s first future F-16 pilots complete basic flying training with RAF
The RAF revealed on February 24 that the first cohort of Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) pilots to receive basic flying training (BFT) in the UK have now completed their syllabus and are now learning to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon
Ukraine claims it shot down 13 Russian military jets in February
As of February 29, the Ukrainian Air Force (UkrAF) has claimed to have shot down a total of 13 Russian military fixed-wing aircraft since January 30, marking the highest number of Russian military jet losses in a single month and the greatest increase in results for Ukraine’s anti-air operations since October 2022
Germany joins UK in donating Sea King helicopters to Ukraine
During a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (otherwise known as the Ramstein Group) on January 23, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius revealed that the nation will donate six German Navy-operated Sea King Mk 41 multi-role utility helicopters – which are now surplus to requirements due to their upcoming retirement – to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Moscow suffers blow as Ukraine downs two Russian command aircraft in one night
While operating over the waters of the Sea of Azov at approximately 2110hrs (local time) on the night of January 14, two high-value aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were struck by Ukrainian missiles, with one crashing and the other being forced to make an emergency landing
Ukrainian pilots begin F-16 training in Denmark as Norwegian 'Vipers' arrive
The Royal Danish Air Force has been training Ukrainian Air Force pilots to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon at Skrydstrup Air Base since late December 2023, when the first six candidates arriving after completing a basic training course in the UK
Ukraine charts success in New Year strikes against Russian forces
The Su-24M Fencer-D tactical bomber fleet of the Ukrainian Air Force has carried out yet another successful strike, using the UK/French-supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missiles against high-value targets in Russian-occupied Crimea on December 26
Ukrainian Su-24s destroy Russian corvette in Crimean shipyard strike
Late in the afternoon of November 4, the Ukrainian Air Force-operated Su-24M Fencer-Ds equipped with UK/French-supplied Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG air-launched cruise missiles struck yet another blow against a high-value target in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula
First Dutch ‘Vipers’ arrive in Romania for Ukrainian F-16 pilot training
As preparations continue to be made for the training of Ukrainian Air Force air/ground crews on the Fighting Falcon, the Royal Netherlands Air Force delivered the first batch of its F-16AM/BM (MLU) fighters to the newly established European F-16 Training Centre (EFTC) at the Romanian Air Force’s 86th Air Base in Borcea, Romania, on November 7
Belgium agrees to send outgoing F-16s to Ukraine from 2025
Brussels has pledged that Belgium will in fact join Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands in transferring some of its outgoing F-16AM/BM (MLU) Fighting Falcon fighters to Ukraine, though the first of an undisclosed number of jets will not be handed over to Kyiv until 2025