Recently, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in the introduction of the purchase plan of the F-35A that this aircraft has participated in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict and played a very good role.
As soon as this remark came out, it immediately shocked the world, which is equivalent to publicly announcing that the F-35 has appeared on the battlefield of Ukraine and Russia, and has combat experience with the Russian army.
According to Huang Yonghong, the U.S. F-35 did not directly launch missiles to participate in operations, but played reconnaissance and guidance roles in the air, such as informing Ukraine of the positioning of the Russian air defense system and providing guidance for the Ukrainian army to launch missiles. On the surface, although there is no direct hands-on launch of missiles, it is clearly more useful in terms of intelligence sharing.
With the U.S. F-35 put into the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, it identifies and locates the Russian surface-to-air missile base and air defense system on a daily basis, and shares this intelligence with NATO countries. The blessing of the U.S. intelligence system can also explain why not only the advanced fighters of the Aerospace Forces such as the Su-35 and Su-34 have been shot down recently, but even the A-50 early warning aircraft escorted by fighters far behind, and the Il-22 electronic warfare aircraft specializing in electronic warfare have not escaped the reconnaissance of the F-35, and have also been shot down one after another.
As more NATO AWACS aircraft and F-35** fighters are deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine, whether it is overt or covert support, it can play a role in sharing target information and guiding missile attacks.
And the follow-up F-16 will be delivered to the Ukrainian Air Force in batches, and the Mirage 2000 and JAS-39 "Gripen" fighters are also being negotiated.