The West is learning from the Ukraine conflict.

The Ukraine conflict offers the West many lessons that may need to be applied when war breaks out between the world's military powers.

Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets on April 8, 2024.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel John Venable, a former F-16 fighter pilot and military expert at the Mitchell Institute, told Business Insider that one of the lessons learned from Ukraine is that perhaps it's time for the West to revive older aircraft control techniques, including low-altitude flight.

During the Cold War in Europe, "we always flew low," Venable said, adding that the U.S. at the time had to train to deal with high-threat situations, specifically against the threat from surface-to-air missiles.

Mr. Venable retired in 2007 after 25 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, flying F-16s in the U.S., Europe, the Pacific , and the Middle East. He accumulated over 300 combat flight hours in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Ukrainian F-16 pilot shoots down 6 Russian missiles.

The veteran pilot said that flying at low altitudes to evade surface-to-air missiles is a particularly challenging technique.

"The ability to fly at extremely low altitudes until you reveal yourself to drop bombs or shoot down other aircraft is not something you can easily master," he said. "It takes time to acquire this skill. And in the process, you lose a lot of aircraft; pilots from crashes to the ground," said the retired U.S. colonel.

The U.S. Air Force continued flying at low altitudes until Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Having lost several aircraft in the early days, the Air Force shifted to medium-altitude flight maneuvers.

F-35 fighter jets of the US Air Force

However, Ukrainian F-16 pilots now have to adopt flight control techniques that the West rejected since the Cold War in order to fight more effectively in Russia's special military operation.

For decades, Western powers have not had to deploy fourth-generation fighter jets to disputed airspace. Furthermore, modern equipment like the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter allows pilots to operate at altitudes beyond the range of surface-to-air missiles. However, this capability may erode in the future.

"In the not-too-distant future, there will come a time when even stealth assets will have to incorporate tactics (low-altitude flight) into combat," Venable warned, adding that the U.S. could learn challenging skills from the Ukraine conflict.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phuong-tay-dang-hoc-hoi-tu-chien-su-ukraine-18525012410040266.htm