F‑16s reinforce Polish borders as Ukraine endures night attacks
Russians once again carried out an attack on Ukrainian cities during the night of 20th to 21st November using drones and missiles. As towns near the Polish border were targeted, the F-16 aircraft and machines from other NATO countries appeared in the air.
The Operational Command reported that due to another massive Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine, standby fighter jet pairs, along with ground air defence and radar reconnaissance systems, were placed on the highest alert level.
Their task is to ensure security in areas bordering threatened regions. The RSZ Operational Command monitors the current situation, and the subordinate forces and resources are ready for immediate response.
F-16 planes as drone and cruise missile hunters
One task is to use F-16 aircraft as hunters of drones or cruise missiles, especially in cooperation with AWACS-type aircraft. This is a much more effective and cheaper tandem than a network of ground-based anti-aircraft systems and radar stations, which have problems detecting low-flying targets due to the so-called radar horizon.
It is also worth noting that in the event of detection of an intrusion into Polish airspace, shooting it down is not guaranteed. If the object is to crash, for example, in a forest, it makes no sense to waste missiles because each shoot-down carries a risk (fragments and debris must fall somewhere).
Polish F-16C/D aircraft are the Block 52+ variant. They were produced in the 2000s and are over 20 years old. They require modernization but are still much more advanced machines than the F-16A/B MLU aircraft delivered to Ukraine after modifications. Ukrainian machines are also deprived of encrypted communication reserved for NATO machines.
