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| Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet integrated with advanced US-made missile (pict Of Illistration) |
International Military - There are several reasons why it is so difficult for the West to send weapons to Ukraine. One of them is because the West does not want to provoke the fury of Russia, which in turn could lead to war in Western Europe.
In addition, the West is also hesitant to give its weapons systems to Ukraine considering the weapons of Zelensky's troops are almost entirely former Soviet relics. For this reason, the order for Ukrainian fighter jets to the West has not yet been approved.
Quoted from the Eurasian Times, Ukraine intends to confront Russian fighter jets with Western fighters. Ukraine itself is very interested in proposing one of the most phenomenal fighter jets in the world, the F-16. Because for Ukrainian fighter pilots, there are two systems they need now, namely air defense systems and fighter jets.
Read Also: Ukrainian MiG-29 Fighter Successfully Fires AGM-88 HARM Missile at Russian Positions
But because the fighter jets in Ukraine are now fairly old, it is very difficult to surpass the power of the Russian air fleet. Even a Ukrainian pilot said flying the MiG-29 was like a suicide mission. The pilot explained to Breaking Defense that it was very difficult to fly this old fighter jet now.
How not, Russian fighter jets can even fly beyond the range of Ukrainian pilots, even releasing missiles as far as 80 miles. While on the one hand, Ukrainian fighter jets only use heat-seeking missiles at visual range.
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| AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile made in the United States |
To that end, Ukraine is assisted by the United States to upgrade its two older fighter jets, the MiG-29 and Su-27, both of which can fire missiles made by Uncle Sam. Both fighter jets now carry the AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), a missile that is used for Suppression of Enemy Air Defense/Destruction of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD/DEAD). Or simply, the missile will target the enemy signal transmitter, quoted from The DRIVE. Therefore, the HARM missile is very suitable for destroying the Russian air defense network.
Read Also: Ukraine's Most Advanced MiG-29 Fulcrum Fighter Jet Equipped with Anti-Radiation Missiles
Quoted from Defense Security Asia, the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile can hit targets as far as 150 kilometers. However, the two Soviet fighter jets themselves required some modifications to be able to use Western missiles.
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| AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile Mounted on Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter |
Both the MiG-29 and Su-27 are aging fighter jets. Even The DRIVE says, these two fighter jets can't actually "read" the mounted HARM missiles. That is, in the cockpit, the system does not recognize this type of missile, even displays a different type or name of the missile. The aircraft's weapons computer mistook the HARM for an R-27 missile.
To that end, Ukrainian engineers are working closely with US experts to improve the fighter's performance. "The successful integration of Western missiles into Ukrainian combat platforms successfully destroyed Russian air defense systems, and the US Department of Defense will send more of them there," a Pentagon spokesman said.
The Ukrainian pilots themselves used these HARM missiles in the Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine, which is now controlled by Russia. According to senior Ukrainian military officials, the Russian military created an effective network of air defense systems there, making it difficult for Ukrainian fighter jets to operate.
Even the Russian defense also caused the failure of the Bayraktar TB2 attack drone which had become a "hero" at the beginning of the war. Therefore, the US sent special weapons to face Russia's strong defense system.