This is very interesting analysis of the Ukrainian war and what the west is up to.
https://southfront.press/mirage-of-support-natos-wi-fi-integration-turns-ukraine-into-proxy-lab/
While Russian missile strikes continue to systematically dismantle Ukraine’s military infrastructure, Kyiv is increasingly relying on media spectacles and symbolic Western gestures to sustain the illusion of unwavering support. On May 4, a patrol of French Mirage 2000 fighters conducted a demonstrative flight over the Black Sea, tracing a flight path deliberately shaped like Ukraine’s national trident emblem. The Ukrainian Air Force lauded the move as a “clear and public demonstration of support,” yet the reality is far less impressive.
These French jets, while visually striking, took off from non-Ukrainian airfields—highlighting their limited operational utility in actual combat. The Mirage 2000s, like other Western-supplied aircraft, remain constrained not just by technical limitations but by political considerations, as NATO carefully balances prestige preservation against the risks of battlefield losses.
Amid the ongoing PR operations and loud claims, Ukraine remains nothing but a military test ground for Western warmongers.
Digital Integration: Link-16 and the Illusion of NATO Interoperability
A more substantive—though still problematic—development is Ukraine’s formal integration into NATO’s digital warfare architecture. Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko has recently announced that Kyiv has signed a licensing agreement for the CRC System Interface (CSI), a command-and-control software enabling real-time data exchange via the Link-16 protocol. This system, often dubbed “NATO’s military Wi-Fi,” should allow Ukrainian F-16s, Mirage 2000s, and Patriot batteries to share targeting data with Alliance assets, including Swedish ASC-890 airborne early warning aircraft.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine will be able to coordinate their actions in a common digital system with the platforms of the Alliance countries, exchange intelligence and receive all target designation directly through this system. Thus, NATO has switched to a direct combat test of its control system, which will allow them to test it in a real war by the Armed Forces of Ukraine without involving NATO units. Western countries will transmit data and coordinate everything online using the same E3 or E-7 and other intelligence methods.
Testing Ground for NATO: Ukraine as a Proxy Lab
The integration into Link-16 underscores a broader NATO strategy: using Ukraine as a live testing ground for Western systems without direct Alliance involvement. Ukrainian forces will now serve as frontline operators of NATO’s networked warfare tools, feeding real-time battlefield data to Western intelligence while receiving targeting inputs from NATO AWACS and satellites. This was already evident in high-profile strikes like the March attack on Russia’s Sudzha energy hub, which reportedly relied on French satellite guidance and British HIMARS coordination. Yet these capabilities have failed to alter the war’s trajectory. The Link-16 upgrade arrives precisely as Ukrainian air defenses buckle under relentless Russian missile and drone barrages—suggesting the move is less about reversing battlefield losses and more about refining NATO’s own systems for future conflicts.
Strategic Limitations and the Hollow Promise of Interoperability
Ukraine became a valuable source of intelligence data on the Russian military. Despite the fanfare, Ukraine’s Link-16 accession is fraught with limitations, especially given Russia’s dominance in electronic warfare and long-range strikes. The system’s value hinges on survivable platforms, yet Ukraine’s F-16s are grounded or destroyed shortly after their deployment, and Ukraine’s F-16s lack modern datalinks, forcing reliance on outdated, mechanically scanned arrays. The ASC-890s, while useful for rear-area surveillance, are too vulnerable to operate near the front, relegating them to passive roles. The ASC-890’s radar has blind spots. Moreover, the system’s effectiveness is undermined by Ukraine’s dwindling inventory of long-range radars and Patriot systems, many of which have been destroyed by Russian strikes. Furthermore, NATO remains wary of full integration, fearing Russian exploitation of compromised datalinks.
According to Russian military observers, the system’s true utility may fully materialize in the case of a prolonged ceasefire, or after the end of active hostilities, where it could facilitate Western troop deployments or the installation of permanent NATO surveillance infrastructure for better coordination in the case of another escalation—a tacit admission that Ukraine’s current prospects for victory are dim.
Media Theater vs. Military Reality
Kyiv’s recent “triumphs”—whether choreographed fighter jet displays or digital handshakes with NATO—reflect a growing dissonance between Western symbolism and battlefield realities. The entire network of NATO satellites has been working in support of Ukraine for years. While Link-16 offers marginal improvements in coordination, it cannot compensate for Ukraine’s crippling shortages of ammunition, airpower, and trained personnel. NATO’s priority appears to be refining its own systems rather than ensuring Ukrainian victory. As Russian forces methodically degrade Ukraine’s warfighting capacity, these high-tech gestures risk becoming mere footnotes in a conflict increasingly dictated by attrition and industrial might. The West’s solidarity, once vocal, now seems reduced to aerial stunts and software licenses—a far cry from the decisive support Kyiv desperately needs.