DDukedesu
DDukedesu t1_jclb3gl wrote
Reply to comment by Warlornn in Slovak government to send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine by esberat
Ukraine can (and currently does) conduct low flying sorties to engage ground armor, other aircraft (e.g. helicopters), or even just to chuck some unguided rockets in the general direction of Russians. F-16 can do this just fine. More aircraft means more potential to hit and saturate air defenses. USA is already supplying HARM missiles to Ukraine, so a lot of Russian radars / SAMs are operating blind to avoid being seen.
DDukedesu t1_jcl9sla wrote
Reply to comment by Warlornn in Slovak government to send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine by esberat
No f-35 is flying so far behind Russian lines that it can hit targets beyond HIMARS range. Russia still has a fuckton of antiair, and all it takes is one lucky radar crew to spot an f35. Stealth does not mean invisible.
DDukedesu t1_jclfdf5 wrote
Reply to comment by Warlornn in Slovak government to send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine by esberat
There is a difference between Radar near the front being quiet to avoid detection, and radar 150-200+ mi away scanning the skies. So no, I wasn't being contradictory.
Ukraine has released very little combat footage from their Migs, so I'm surprised there's enough footage available for you to review videos of Ukrainian jets on a daily basis. Just because we haven't seen footage of a Mig engaging a tank, doesn't mean it hasn't already happened.
Edit: HARM maximum operational range is ~140mi (fired high, so actual range is much lower based on the actual elevations Ukrainians are operating at). Russians can safely park radar and SAMs 150 miles out and not have to worry about HARM or HIMARS at this time.