Ukraine's Two-Seat F-16 Trainers Are Flying Combat Missions
Why?
Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands and Norway have pledged to Ukraine 87 surplus Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters. Most of the F-16s are single-seat F-16AM models—built in the 1980s, upgraded in the 2000s—but there are a few two-seat F-16BMs in the mix.
And we just clearly saw one in the air presumably over Ukraine for the first time, in a photo from Telegram channel Avia OFN. There was an earlier but less clear video.
So what are Ukraine’s two-seaters up to?
The F-16BM is normally a trainer, but it’s got a full set of avionics and flight controls in the back seat—and even has a repeater that mirrors the front seat’s heads-up display so the crew person in the back can see what the front-seater sees through the HUD.
Adding a second seat to an F-16 does mean some trade-offs. An F-16BM carries around 1,000 pounds less fuel than a single-seat F-16AM. Losing 1,000 pounds from a 12,000-pound internal and external capacity isn’t a big deal for an air force that mostly fights at short range.
We don’t know how many F-16BMs Ukraine has or will have. So far, spotters have confirmed the identities of just 30 or so Ukrainian F-16s—and they’re all single-seat F-16AMs. That said, it’s possible the healthiest Ukrainian F-16s—those with the most remaining airframe hours—are ex-Danish F-16BMs that the Danes carefully maintained and only flew for training.
Whatever the number, it’s evident Ukrainian F-16BMs are flying combat missions. A video montage the Ukrainian air force posted online on Sept. 20 appears to depict a two-seat F-16 intercepting a Russian drone or cruise missile, likely with an AIM-9 infrared-guided missile. (See video below.)
