News
Ukraine combines Russian fighter jets with Western weapons and technology.
Use of tablets in Ukrainian fighter jets
- Ukrainian fighter jets have been fitted with tablets to control Western weapons systems.
- New equipment such as tablets enable the integration of advanced Western weapons systems into Soviet aircraft, giving them new capabilities in the conflict with Russia.
The summary is generated by artificial intelligence, but read through by a journalist.
The Ukrainian Air Force is said to have adopted iPads or other types of tablets in the cockpit of its Soviet fighter jets to use Western air-to-ground weapons, writes The Warzone.
US Secretary of State for Defense and Acquisition William LePlante confirmed it at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank’s annual Global Security Forum on April 24.
Much is still unclear about how the tablets are actually used on the Ukrainian fighters, but now there is footage on X showing tablets mounted in the cockpits of Ukrainian fighters during combat or sniping.
LePlant was asked to provide examples of successful military projects that rapidly developed capabilities for military use. Then he highlighted the use of tablets in Ukrainian fighter planes.
– In cooperation with the Ukrainians, we have managed to take many Western weapons and make them work on their aircraft, where it is controlled by an iPad controlled by the pilot. And they fly in combat about a week after they get them, he said.
LaPlante didn’t provide more details, but it’s worth noting that a recently released video from the Ukrainian Air Force shows what is believed to be a Su-27 Flanker equipped with exactly this type of system — possibly an iPad, but perhaps also another type of commercial tablet available.
The video in question shows the Su-27 using US-supplied AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs), which have enabled these fighters and Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrums to destroy or disable Russian air defense capabilities.
Based on LaPlant’s comments, it seems that the same tablet is also essential for the use of several Western air-to-ground weapons. After HARM was integrated, Soviet Ukrainian fighters also began using Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) precision-guided bombs.
As for the precision-guided weapons, it has been assumed that they are likely to be used against targets with known coordinates, where they are pre-programmed on the airstrip before take-off. The pilot must then navigate to the area, perhaps also assisted by a tablet with GPS navigation, and then release the weapon, which is guided to the target using its internal navigation system.
While much is still unknown about exactly how these tablets communicate with the aircraft and the Western weapons they now carry, they are set to be an important piece in giving Ukraine’s old Soviet fighter jets new and deadly capabilities.
