Just days before the fourth anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s Armed Forces continue to move forward in their transition toward Western-origin platforms supplied by the United States and European allies. In the case of the F-16 fighters provided by Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway—soon to be joined by aircraft from Belgium—the platform continues to mature and progress toward achieving Full Operational Capability. With confirmation that Ukrainian aircraft are already operating with Sniper/PANTERA targeting pods, it is now reported that they may also be employing laser-guided APKWS II rockets, which would be used to intercept and shoot down Russian drones.
While it is known that APKWS II guided rockets are already in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, being operated by Vampire counter-drone air defense systems supplied by L3Harris, their employment from aircraft had not been confirmed until now.
This development adds to those observed recently in the Middle East, where F-16 and F-15E fighters of the United States Air Force (USAF) have been deployed on interception missions, equipped with targeting pods and guided rocket launchers, achieving the shoot-down of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The use of this class of weaponry—originally conceived to take advantage of the large stocks of 70 mm Hydra rockets against ground targets—has seen renewed interest by proving to be a more efficient option against low-performance unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as other similar aerial threats. This allows the preservation of valuable air-to-air missiles from the Sidewinder and AMRAAM families for higher-value targets.
During last March, following the official confirmation of the first shoot-down of a Houthi drone by an F-16 equipped with 2.75-inch AGR-20 FALCO APKWS guided rockets—announced by U.S. Central Command itself—we provided a brief and approximate comparison of the estimated average cost of a rocket of this type versus an air-to-air missile.
In this regard, we noted: “…the cost of a guided rocket of this type is around US$15,000, while that of an air-to-air missile, such as the AIM-9 or AIM-120, amounts to approximately US$450,000 and US$1,000,000, respectively.”
Returning to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, these issues related to the financial efficiency of the war effort should not be overlooked, considering that the threat posed by Russian drones and missiles can be measured in dozens or even hundreds on a regular basis. This places extreme demands on Ukrainian air defense systems and combat aircraft, as well as on their available weapons stocks.
The situation is acknowledged not only by Ukraine but also by European allies through their support and assistance packages. To cite just one example, Norway announced that in its most recent support package for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, guided rockets—specifically APKWS—will be transferred to equip F-16 fighters.
Prior to this confirmation, several photographs that quickly went viral on social media—such as those showing the presence of targeting pods—confirmed that Ukrainian F-16s were already conducting combat missions equipped with LAU-131/A rocket launchers, which have the capacity to fire seven rockets of this class. It was also reported that the aircraft were complemented in this air-to-air/air-to-ground configuration with short-range AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles and one of the aforementioned AN/AAQ-33 Sniper/PANTERA pods.
However, as noted by various analysts, APKWS guided rockets have limitations which, while partially offset by the greater number of shots available to the aircraft, stem from the fact that, unlike missiles, they do not possess a “fire-and-forget” capability and must be continuously guided to the target by the launching aircraft or by another aircraft providing support.
Cover photograph used for illustrative purposes.
