Ukraine Needs 20mm F-16 Ammo to Down Russian Jet Drones

Ukraine wants to purchase tens of hundreds of thousands of 20-millimeter rounds for its F-16 fighter aircraft to shoot down Russia’s increasingly deployed jet-powered attack drones.Kyiv is negotiating with several European countries and ammunition manufacturers about potential supplies, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, Sept. 30, citing people familiar with the discussions.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The ammunition would be fired from the F-16’s built-in cannon, offering Ukraine a potentially cheaper and more widely available alternative to using scarce air-to-air missiles against each Russian drone.According to Bloomberg, destroying one drone may require approximately 150 rounds. At the current intensity of Russian attacks, Ukraine could need around 10,000 such rounds per day.Cheaper option against Russian dronesUkraine has used AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles launched from F-16s to intercept Russian aerial targets. These guided missiles are considerably more expensive than cannon ammunition and are also needed by ground-based air defense systems.Ukrainian F-16 pilots are already using their aircraft’s 20-millimeter cannons against jet-powered drones when other intercept options were unavailable.The F-16 carries an internally mounted M61A1 Vulcan six-barrel rotary cannon that fires 6,000 rounds per minute. Using it allows pilots to preserve guided missiles for cruise missiles and other high-priority targets.Each aircraft carries 500 usable rounds of semi-armor piercing, high-explosives, incendiary (SAPHEI) PGU-28 20mm cartridges. Other Topics of Interest CIA's Ratcliffe Reportedly Warned Kremlin of Soviet-Style Collapse in Moscow Visit Previous reports suggested the CIA director may have warned Moscow against aiding Iran, sought to prevent escalation – or briefed Putin on the US assessment of the war. In employing the gun against airborne targets, pilots usually fire half-second bursts which puts out 50 exploding bullets in each brief trigger squeeze. And the trigger is positioned in the same place as it is when shooting a firearm – under your right index finger.The tactic nevertheless requires pilots to approach drones at relatively close range. Shahed drones are approximately 1/10 the size of an average fighter, which at maximum range for the typical gunshot of 4,000 feet slant range, the target is about 2 milliradians or about the size of the smallest item in the heads-up display (HUD) which is a dot, or about the size of a decimal or period on this page.Falling debris from destroyed drones and overspray from the natural dispersion of projectiles that don’t hit the target may also endanger people and property within the Vulcan’s ground projected elliptical footprint when intercepts take place over populated areas.Bloomberg reported that global supplies of 20-millimeter ammunition are more plentiful than stocks of Patriot and Western air-to-air missiles, potentially allowing Kyiv to obtain the rounds more quickly.Russia expands jet-powered drone attacksRussia has rapidly increased its use of jet-powered drones, which fly faster and higher than conventional propeller-driven Shaheds and are more difficult for mobile fire groups and existing interceptor drones to destroy.According to Ukrainian Air Force, Russian launches of jet-powered drones rose from around 350 in June to approximately 2,850 in August.President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 100 drones on Tuesday, including 29 jet-powered models. Ukrainian forces intercepted 18 of the faster drones, he said.Ukraine is simultaneously developing high-speed interceptor drones and other domestic systems to counter the new threat. Zelensky said on Tuesday that officials had selected the first prototypes of a dedicated countermeasure and established deadlines, financing requirements and planned production volumes.Kyiv has also received urgent deliveries of F-16 ammunition from Belgium, Spain and other partners. Belgium has agreed to transfer three additional F-16 fighters to Ukraine by the end of 2026.“As Russia escalates its attacks every day, we need to add more capabilities to shoot down aerial targets and protect people,” Zelensky said. Christopher Stewart is a staff editor and writer for the Kyiv Post. He has over 3,500 hours flying the F-16 and F-111 and is a graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School. He spent many hours and years training military pilots from around the world to fly combat fighter jets including the F-16.