Ukraine’s Air Force unveils first image of an F-16 in combat missions: what's visible on the hardpoints. Photo

The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces showed an F-16 fighter jet operating near the contact line. The photo shows the aircraft's fuel tanks and weapons.

The photo of the F-16 was published on the Sunflower Telegram channel, which is run by the Ukrainian Air Force. Details of the fighter's weapons were revealed by the Ukrainian military portal Defence Express.

The picture shows three outboard fuel tanks under the wings. They can hold 3,940 liters of aviation fuel, which with such a weapons package is enough for about 1,700 kilometers of flight. This means that the flight was a long one, and apparently over a long distance.

"Three outboard fuel tanks means the plane was flying to the Luhansk airbase to cover the strike group," the Ukrainian Air Force noted.

Previously, this task was performed by old MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft. Now that they have been replaced by F-16s, they can be widely used for other missions, for example, MiG-29s can be used to launch French AASM Hammer precision long-range bombs.

Under the wings of the F-16, short-range air-to-air missiles with an AIM-9 infrared homing head can be seen. Judging by the shape of the plumage, this is the AIM-9X modification. Earlier, photos of F-16s with AIM-9s, but of older modifications, L or M, had already appeared on the web.

An AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missile is mounted on a suspension point at the end of the wing, which can be distinguished from older versions by its trapezoidal fin, which is triangular in the more modern versions and triangular in the older ones.

The aircraft carries two AIM-9Xs and only one AIM-120C, although its standard configuration is two missiles of each type. This indicates that the F-16 has already used one AIM-120C on the target, as written in the pilots' channel.

"Also, an interesting detail is the ECIPS/CJS container from Danish Terma and Italian Leonardo; although it has already been 'lit up' before, it remains quite fascinating because it integrates a powerful digital electronic warfare station that can jam the radars of aircraft and anti-air missile systems, as well as a missile threat detection station, particularly by detecting incoming missiles," added Defence Express

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