A US Air Force squadron tinkered with the electronic warfare systems on Ukraine's new F-16s so they could fight evolving Russian threats

• Ukraine recently received its first batch of long-awaited F-16s from its NATO partners.
• A US Air Force squadron had to reprogram the electronic warfare systems on the fighter jets.
• The aircraft needed to be adjusted so they could be effective against evolving Russian threats.

A US Air Force squadron was tasked with reprogramming the F-16 fighter jets donated to Ukraine so they could battle evolving Russian threats with electronic warfare.

The 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron, an element of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, recently worked with the Danish and Norwegian militaries to support the long-awaited delivery of F-16s to Ukraine, the Air Force said on Monday.

Denmark and the Netherlands provided Ukraine with its first batch of F-16s, which Kyiv finally unveiled earlier this month. However, the American-made aircraft's electronic warfare subsystems needed some tinkering to be better prepared for their new threat environment.

Electronic warfare has been a prominent feature of Russia's war against Ukraine, with both sides regularly using it to interfere with enemy weapons systems like precision strike munitions, guided bombs, and missiles, among other things.

The extensive employment of such tactics in this conflict has forced both Russia and Ukraine to find innovative ways to scale up their electronic warfare practices and develop countermeasures.

Russia and Ukraine "heavily rely on unfettered access to the electromagnetic spectrum to achieve commander objectives," the 350th, which is located at Florida's Eglin Air Force Base, said in a statement , adding that "both sides have continuously engaged in EW through techniques such as jamming and spoofing throughout the war to achieve spectrum superiority."

"With the third-party transfer of F-16s by Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands to Ukraine, another EW capability is joining the fight for Ukraine," the 350th said. It did not say what that capability is.

"To effectively integrate the F-16 into the Ukrainian Air Force, its EW subsystems required reprogramming to be effective against evolving Russian threats in the spectrum," the wing said, referring to electronic warfare. "The 68th EWS took this challenge head-on given the urgent priority it represents to the US and our partners."

The squadron first had to learn about the unfamiliar system on the F-16s that were soon to be delivered from Europe, because the US does not have it in its inventory. Denmark and Norway provided data so the Americans could understand the system and how to reprogram it.

After gaining an understanding the system and traveling overseas to develop and test it, the 68th verified the different elements so they met the Ukrainians' requirements. Squadron members said working with partner nations paved the way for a successful project.

"When you're talking about a near-peer conflict, you need all of your coalition partners to operate with the same playbook so you can achieve spectrum dominance," the director of the 68th EWS said in a statement. They were not named.

"One F-16 with a reprogrammed pod won't achieve air dominance alone, but it may give you a pocket of air superiority for a moment's time to achieve an objective that has strategic importance and impact," the director added, setting expectations for the capability.

NATO countries have pledged to send Ukraine dozens of F-16s, giving Kyiv's arsenal of aging Soviet-era aircraft a significant capability boost.

However, Ukrainian officials, top US generals, and experts have cautioned that the F-16 won't necessarily be a game-changing platform, as it faces a tough operating environment and Russia's sophisticated air-defense systems.

Ukrainian leadership has also said it likely won't have enough fighter jets to make a notable impact. However, with the right weapon configurations, the jet can still be effective for certain offensive and defensive missions.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed his F-16s were used in combat to shoot down Russian missiles during a massive attack the day before.