Ukrainian pilots are installing iPads or similar tablets in Soviet-era fighter cockpits to control Western missiles.
“Ukraine has not yet received F-16 fighters but possesses many Soviet and Russian military aircraft. We coordinate with the Ukrainian side to make Western weapons work on these aircraft, basically Pilots use iPads to control them,” said William LaPlante, US Deputy Secretary of Defense in charge of procurement, on April 24.
Mr. LaPlante did not provide further details about Ukrainian pilots using iPads to control Western weapons on Soviet and Russian fighters, but confirmed that “Ukrainian pilots flew planes into combat just a week after they I hand over the materials.”
It is unclear how tablets are integrated and operate on older generation aircraft models that Ukraine owns.
The Ukrainian Air Force recently released a video showing a Su-27 fighter carrying an AGM-88 High Speed Anti-Radar Missile (HARM) donated by the US. In the cockpit, right in front of the pilot, there is a tablet computer, possibly an iPad model.
Ukrainian pilot uses iPad to control Western missiles
Ukrainian Su-27 fighter carries a tablet, possibly an iPad, in a video released on April 21. Video: PS ZSU
The tablet’s screen displays a map and some other data. Because it is mounted in a horizontal position, it obscures many of the main instruments in the cockpit and appears to replace their role as a flight data reporter.
Mr. LaPlante’s comments show that tablet computers play a very important role for Ukraine to operate air-to-ground weapons donated by the West. After integrating the HARM anti-radar missile, Ukraine began equipping its fighters with American JDAM-ER guided bombs and French-made Hammer missiles.
Technicians apparently have to preload known target coordinates into weapons like the HARM, JDAM-ER, and Hammer. The Ukrainian pilot then drove the fighter to the firing position, possibly with support from a tablet with GPS navigation, and then dropped the weapon.
However, operating HARM is more complicated than other types of weapons because the target only appears for a short time and can move quickly from its location, especially air defense complexes with integrated radar on the surface. front line. The mission to suppress enemy air defenses also requires pilots to immediately react to targets as soon as they appear.
Su-27 fighter fitted with American HARM anti-radar missiles. Image: Ministry of National Defense of Ukraine
The fighters that Ukraine inherited from the Soviet era lack screens that allow data display to ensure seamless compatibility with HARM, JDAM-ER and Hammer. Therefore, tablet models such as iPad are used to overcome this limitation.
The tablet in the cockpit can serve as a real-time radar signal warning to Ukrainian pilots, through the signal receiver on the weapon pylon or the HARM missile’s seeker.
Ukrainian pilots will use this data to locate targets or avoid areas at risk of being shot down by Russian air defense, helping to increase weapon effectiveness and survivability.
“While there is not much precise information about how tablets like the iPad model interface with Soviet-era aircraft and Western weapons, these devices play an important role in providing new combat options. for old fighters in service with the Ukrainian Air Force”, editor Thomas Newdick of TWZ conclude.
Nguyen Tien (According to TWZ)
