Turmoil On The Front! Ukrainian F-16s Are On The Hunt! - RFU News

Today, the biggest news comes from the Ukrainian skies.

Here, Ukrainians launched a massive F-16 air strike campaign on Russian military targets, using the new Western jets’ deadly capabilities to the maximum. Ukrainians demonstrated their new capabilities by crippling Russian preparations for their spring offensive.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its aerial operations against Russian targets, leveraging newly acquired F-sixteens from the Netherlands and Mirage two-thousands from France to conduct a series of strategic airstrikes. As you remember from previous reports, Ukrainians have already destroyed a massive number of Russian air defense systems, not only opening the sky to long-range strikes but now also enabling much more aggressive air operations close to the front.

On the northern front, Ukrainians executed multiple precision strikes to disrupt Russian efforts. Near Grafivka, Ukrainians used an American GBU-62 JDAM to destroy a Russian border checkpoint being used to store ammunition and gather personnel. Geolocated footage also confirms several more hits on Russian positions, targeting and disrupting Russian force accumulations as Russians keep sending in more reinforcements to deal with the Ukrainian incursion into Belgorod.

In Kursk, Ukrainian MiG-twenty-nines used French AASM HAMMER guided bombs to target Russian force concentrations in Guyevo and Goptarivka, preventing them from establishing footholds in these villages. The Ukrainian-French air strike combination continued to devastate Russian efforts, targeting Russian drone operators’ launching points and command posts in Tiotkino, and then finally destroying a critical bridge used by armored vehicles in Kursk. These strikes disrupted the Russian command and control structure, preventing coordinated Russian assaults into Sumy, and dooming them to small infantry group tactics that were doomed to fail. Meanwhile, the strikes on Russian drone operators' outposts denied Russians the ability to target Ukrainian troop movements on the Sumy-Sudzha road.

On the Donetsk and Luhansk frontlines, Ukrainian airstrikes have aimed to alleviate the pressure off Ukrainian defenders in the hottest sectors of the front. Along the Pischane funnel near Kupiansk, Ukrainian aircraft successfully struck two-story buildings full of Russian soldiers. In Soledar, north of Bakhmut, a Mavic 3 drone captured the impact of two GBU-62 JDAM bombs on Russian troop positions preparing for frontline deployment and assaults toward Siversk. At Pokrovsk, Ukrainians carried out precision strikes in Selydove and Novoyelizavetivka, targeting large buildings housing Russian soldiers and drone operators, collapsing the structures, and eliminating everyone inside. Finally, in Velyka Novosilka, reconnaissance drones guided AASM HAMMER bombs to hit buildings being used as command posts and gathering points for Russian soldiers.

Notably, Ukrainian strike aircraft have been operating with increased confidence, bolstered by air-to-air fighter cover provided by the newly acquired F-sixteens and Mirage two-thousands. This enhanced fighter support with increased air-to-air and radar capabilities was used to engage enemy aircraft while allowing Ukrainian strike planes to focus on destroying their targets.

At Kherson, this allowed Ukrainians to repeatedly target the command post of Russia's 81st self-propelled artillery regiment near Nechayeve, resulting in the elimination of approximately 30 Russian officers. After the Russians had replaced the killed commanders of the regiment, Ukrainian intelligence passed on the coordinates of their new command post. The footage shows Ukrainian bombs hitting the target on precise weak points with GBU-62 guided bombs, allowing them to penetrate and do massive internal damage to the new command post, despite not even being bunker busters. Additionally, a MiG-29 delivered two AASM HAMMER bombs on a Russian company command post and a building housing Russian troops in Babine on the Dnipro River bank.

Overall, Recent airstrikes reveal a clear Ukrainian focus on hitting troop concentrations and command centers, disrupting command structures and undermining Russian assaults before they can even begin. Bolstering Ukraine's aerial capabilities by delivering Western fighter jets and precision-guided munitions has allowed for a massive air strike campaign against Russian targets. The Air Force has combined older jets like the MiG-twenty-nines with newly acquired F-sixteens and Mirage two-thousands, enabling more expansive use of precision munitions such as GBU-62 JDAM and AASM HAMMER bombs. These Western multirole fighters are both able to participate in the Ukrainian air strike campaign, as well as provide air-to-air cover for Ukrainian jets conducting strikes. Most notably...