Swapping..

 

In just over 24 hours, Ukraine experienced significant losses in its air force, with two Su-27 fighters and one MiG-29 shot down.

 According to a press release from the Russian Ministry of Defense, these incidents occurred during dogfights and were overwhelmed by air defense systems between late September 14 and throughout September 15. 

Losing Su-27s is a tough blow for Ukraine since these fighters offer unique air defense and interception capabilities that are hard to replace, even with modern Western jets like the F-16.  

While the F-16 comes with modern avionics, it’s fundamentally doesn’t directly replace the specialized air superiority role of Su-27. 

Swapping Su-27s for F-16s would mean Ukraine sacrifices some strategic advantages of the Su-27’s longer range and heavy payload, even though the F-16 brings cutting-edge technology and interoperability.