Biden lifts ban: Private military firms eye Ukraine operations

Ukraine currently has six Patriot anti-aircraft systems and a very limited number of F-16A/B MLU aircraft. Given the situation and the extremely short training course, Ukrainians are reportedly doing quite well, according to General James B. Hecker's assessment.

The main limitation for Ukrainians in acquiring more advanced NATO equipment is manpower shortages and a lengthy training process. A solution to this shortage could be to acquire experts from abroad, similar to the formation of the International Legion.

While there were usually no issues in the West with former special forces soldiers, the situation was different for specialists like technical support staff or pilots. Now, it appears that restrictions have been lifted in the U.S., and a number of individuals are likely to be willing to operate in Ukraine.

Currently, discussions are focused only on support activities, such as assisting with on-site repairs.

Ukraine received modified F-16A/B MLU aircraft. MLU stands for Mid-Life Update from the 1990s. The process involved, among other things, integrating the oldest F-16A/B with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles with a range of up to about 100 kilometres, depending on the version, and installing a new radar.

These aircraft are also undergoing additional modernization before being deployed to Ukraine, including removing specific NATO-restricted systems, such as identification friend or foe (IFF) systems, along with various other technical modifications to enhance their performance. There are speculations that the AN/APG-66 and AN/APG-68 radars have been significantly improved or even replaced with the more advanced AN/APG-83 SABR.

Additionally, as seen in photos of some Ukrainian aircraft, they have received additional targeting pods like the AN/ASQ-213 HTS, enabling the use of precision weapons across the full range. This includes weapons such as AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, ADM-160B MALD decoys, or JDAM-ER or GBU-39 SDB bombs.

Additionally, reports have emerged about the possibility of equipping them with French AASM Hammer bombs. Thanks to all these modifications, Ukrainian F-16s have approached the combat potential of more modern F-16C/D Block 52+ models.

Most of the Patriot systems deployed in Ukraine, except for the most modern one from Romania, are versions from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The main feature of these systems is the PAC-2 GEM-T missiles, which are an advanced upgrade of earlier versions.

This modernization aimed to improve the ability to counter various targets, especially ballistic missiles, while maintaining a traditional fragmentation warhead. Key changes included the installation of a modern rocket engine and an enhanced radar warhead, capable of better detecting objects with a reduced radar signature.

Despite these upgrades, the guidance method has not changed, meaning the system still operates in a semi-active mode. This presents a certain weakness compared to PAC-3 MSE/CRI missiles, which are equipped with an active radar warhead and operate in a "fire-and-forget" mode. These are specialized anti-ballistic weapons designed to destroy targets with a kinetic warhead through direct hit.

The Patriot's only drawback is its radar, which has a sector coverage of 120 degrees. This means that currently, the best solution is to use two radars per battery to achieve a detection field of about 240 degrees.

Despite this, the older Patriots are performing very well in Ukraine, shooting down aircraft and even Russian hypersonic weapons. The range of PAC-2 GEM-T missiles against aircraft is as much as 160 kilometres, for PAC-3 CRI around 120 kilometres, but for ballistic missiles, it is about 40 kilometres from the launcher.