Fighter Pilot Compares Flying F-16s to MiG-29s: 'Different Leagues'

U.S.-made F-16s and Soviet-era MiG-29 jets are in "two different leagues," a serving fighter pilot who has flown both in his career has told Newsweek, as NATO moves closer to sending advanced Western jets to Ukraine.

The pilot, who serves in the Polish air force, said that while the F-16 was designed to perform efficiently in a modern conflict, the MiG-29 was like a "ghost" of a previous era, concluding his in-depth assessment: "I wouldn't like to fly that jet in real combat."

Multiple NATO countries have moved towards providing Kyiv with Western-made fighter jets in recent weeks, which had previously been a red line for nations wary of the political fallout and the amount of work needed to integrate new aircraft into Ukraine's air force.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said jets like the American F-16s "will greatly enhance our army in the sky," but no country has yet made the move to furnish Ukraine with them. Several have signed up to a "fighter jet coalition," but negotiations have so far fallen short of a concrete pledge, though this now looks to be on the horizon.

The U.S.-made F-16 is the top contender to revamp Ukraine's air force, which currently operates Soviet-era jets like the MiG-29. On Monday, Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, reiterated Kyiv's calls, telling the BBC that Ukraine needed to be able to challenge Russia's "air superiority along the front line."

Countries such as Poland and Slovakia have donated stocks of their MiG-29s, but experts said that while these had bolstered Ukraine's air force, they did not offer the brand-new capabilities that Western jets such as the F-16 would. This was a view echoed by the Polish pilot who has flown both.

More Comfortable, More Advanced

"I could just talk all day about [the] advantages of F-16 over MiG-29, but I think it's not fair because those are two different leagues nowadays," the serving Polish lieutenant, who spent five years flying MiG-29s and a further five on F-16s, told Newsweek.

Some of the differences between the U.S-made aircraft and the Soviet-era jet are technical, he said. The cockpit in an F-16—known to pilots like him as the "Viper"—is small "but surprising comfortable" and arranged to make the pilot's life easier, he said, adding that this element of design "simply did not exist" in a MiG-29, known to NATO pilots as the "Fulcrum."

"You start [the] engine and all systems will start working" on an F-16, said the pilot, whom Newsweek is not naming in line with Polish regulations.

MiG-29s have far poorer visibility than an F-16, he said. The F-16 has a bubble canopy, providing the pilot with a 360-degree view that the pilot described as "amazing," whereas a MiG-29 pilot is not able to see directly behind. The F-16's visibility "was only the beginning of fun" for its pilot, he said.

The sheer amount of data fed to F-16 pilots far outstrips that provided to those in a MiG-29 cockpit. F-16s can track and engage multiple targets, and are plugged into a military tactical data network that gives pilots better situational awareness, the pilot said.

With the MiGs, he recounted, "you were dependent on ground controllers to find the adversary." Radar was only short-range on the MiGs, he continued, and could only track one target after locking onto it. He hadn't used night vision goggles during his time in the air on in a MiG-29, but now he uses them with F-16s and "cannot imagine flying" without them anymore.

The MiG-29 is also inferior in terms of alerting pilots to threats, he said. The radar warning receiver, which tells the pilot when the aircraft is being tracked and locked by radar, "was not providing you a lot of information about the threats that would enhance your survivability on modern battlefield."

He maintained that it was a privilege to have flown the MiG-29, but its time had passed. "Don't get me wrong it was a great pleasure to fly on MiG-29 but I wouldn't like to fly that jet in real combat," he said. The F-16 is a "modern multirole jet that can operate in all weather conditions, day and night," whereas the MiG-29 "is a fighter with limited air to ground capabilities."

The F-16 is more than just a jet—it is a whole system designed for efficiency, he said. The MiG-29 is now "just a ghost of an era."

Polish Support for Ukraine

From the early stages of the war, Poland has been one of the most vocal backers of sending fighter jets to bolster Ukraine's air force. Warsaw became the first NATO country to pledge fighter jets in mid-March with an initial batch of four MiG-29s, after indicating it was willing to take the lead in committing aircraft to Kyiv.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed in early May that Warsaw had delivered 10 MiG-29s to Ukraine, and Slovakia has also sent several of its own MiGs to Kyiv in recent months.

According to the Military Balance for 2023—a comprehensive look at the world's armed forces produced annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank—Poland had two squadrons of MiG-29s, or 28 aircraft, at the start of the year. Poland also had 36 F-16Cs and 12 F-16Ds, according to the think tank's data.

F-16s are operated by many countries, and are touted as an effective fourth-generation aircraft. There are several iterations, and although Ukraine is unlikely to receive the latest versions, it would nonetheless be a real step up for its military.

Polish general and former land forces commander Waldemar Skrzypczak told Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform earlier this month that Ukraine would have F-16s in "two or three months" and that Ukrainian pilots were ready to operate them.

On June 6, Zelensky said that Kyiv had received a "serious, powerful offer" in its quest for Western jets.

"Our partners know how many aircraft we need," Zelensky said, according to a readout published by his presidential office. "I have already received an understanding of the number from some of our European partners, and it is powerful," he added. It is not yet clear what offer he was referring to, nor which nations are involved in this.

Ukraine would need around 100 Western jets, mostly U.S. made F-16s, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told European media in an interview in late May. Kyiv would be able to make a significant difference with between "dozens" and 100 well-operated F-16 jets, experts have previously indicated to Newsweek.

Several NATO nations have formed an "international coalition" to provide fighter jets such as F-16s, and the U.S. has indicated it will help with training programs for Ukrainian pilots. Ukraine is still waiting on "a joint agreement with the United States," Zelensky said earlier this month.

The U.S. has said, as have many experts, that F-16s could be a long-term commitment to keeping Ukraine's air force operational, unlike the aid provided in previous packages.

How Long Does It Take To Prepare F-16s?

This is not an easy or quick process. Logistics need to be put in place, bases and runways will need to be adapted and protected, and thorough training completed. Ultimately, it could pave the way to Ukraine joining NATO, some analysts have suggested.

It is difficult to work out just how much training Ukrainian pilots will need to make the best use of any F-16s provided. "It's a very tricky question because it depends on to what level we want to train pilot on F-16," the Polish pilot said. It typically takes around six months for a basic course, but this depends on how available the jets are, the progress made by individual pilots and the weather conditions, he said.

Being combat ready would "definitely take longer," the pilot, who completed two years of training in the U.S., said, although the time frame can change in exceptional circumstances.

"We must remember that to make an effective fighter pilot capable to perform multiple tasks we need a lot of time," he added.

Looking back, he said: "Nowadays when I think about time when I was flying Fulcrums I can hardly believe that it was just a couple years from now because during that time for me as a fighter pilot I made a huge step forward."