The inventions, implemented to enable the Ukrainian Air Force to use partner-supplied weapons, have been attracting a lot of attention since the beginning of the Russian invasion. And this is especially unique given the fact that the Ukrainian military has become a mixture of Soviet and Western types of equipment – equipment that is completely different in nature, but due to modernization and adaptation, works perfectly together.
It was believed that in order for these opposites to interact effectively, a complete modernization of the equipment – especially the aircraft – was necessary. However, in practice, ready-made solutions and special technical units were needed to facilitate the preparation of missiles before launch already during the flight. But those are the exterior improvements – and the cockpit upgrade remained unclear, at least until an official video from the Ukrainian pilots shed some light.
in 2024 February 19 Footage released by the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade shows Ukrainian Su-27s using AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles. It is noteworthy that a large part of the space in the cockpit was occupied by a tablet computer.
The screen showed a map and other information that was difficult to see. A specialized satnav device was also visible on the right side of the tablet, making it unlikely that both devices were intended to identify the current location of the aircraft – such information need not be displayed twice.
After the video was released, there was initial confusion and speculation about the role of a regular tablet in the cockpit. In the new April 24 the video shows an identical scenario of launching an AGM-88 HARM from a Su-27. Later in the video, the pilot can be seen simply holding the tablet on his lap.
It turns out, as William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and maintenance at the US Department of Defense, revealed, the tablet is actually needed for these combat missions.
“Working with the Ukrainians, we were able to take a lot of Western weapons and make them work on their planes, where the pilot basically controls them with an ‘iPad’ tablet computer. And they were flying in the conflict about a week after we presented it to them,” the expert was quoted as saying by The War Zone.
Journalists from this media outlet also speculate that the tablet plays a key role in communicating with the missile, most likely via wireless means (such as Bluetooth). The tablet can also receive data from other sources about targets and operating conditions.
According to Defense Express, if this assumption is correct, it means that the engineers managed to create an essentially parallel weapon control system using a tablet as a basis, which was immediately integrated into a unified combat data exchange network. Moreover, this was done with minimal adjustments to the aircraft itself, its on-board systems and the like. Although this solution is hardly perfect and convenient, it is a pragmatic choice – because Ukraine does not have the luxury of waiting several years for everything to be integrated “correctly”.
Especially if that “right way” takes an inadequate amount of time – for example, it is stated that it took 1.5 years to integrate the Taurus missiles into the F-16 aircraft, even though this aircraft is already fully digital, writes Defense Express.
