File image.
The Russian military has reportedly shot down yet another American-made F-16 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF).
In a statement released on April 12, the UAF mourned the F-16 pilot 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov, but stopped short from acknowledging that the fighter jet was shot down by Russian fire.
“All the circumstances of the tragedy are being investigated by an interdepartmental commission, which has already begun its work,” the statement reads.
The statement went on to note that Ukrainian F-16 pilots often perform combat missions in “incredibly difficult” conditions.
President Volodymyr Zelensky offered his condolences to the family of the slain pilot. Later, Ukrainian media reported that the young pilot, who previously flew Soviet-made Su-25 close air support fighter jets, was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously.
While Ukrainian media largely described the aerial losses as a “crash,” the BBC, citing a Ukrainian military source, reported that the F-16 fell on April 11 after being hit by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.
“Russian forces launched a total of three missiles at the aircraft. It was either a guided surface-to-air missile from an S-400 system or an air-to-air R-37 missile,” the source said.
The unnamed source ruled out the possibility of friendly fire, stating that there were no Ukrainian air defense systems operating in the area where Ivanov was conducting his mission.
The S-400 and the R-37 – typically fired from MiG-31, Su-35 or Su-57 fighter jets – can engage aerial targets with a maximum range close to 400 kilometers. Both systems can reach hypersonic speed and are equipped with complex guidance systems, with on-board active radar seekers.
Ukraine received the first batch of F-16s just last July. Ten such fighter jets have so far been delivered to the country out of a total of 85 pledged by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. At least three of the jets have been already confirmed to be destroyed.
Like many other weapons supplied to Ukraine by the West after the start of the Russian special military operation, the F-16 was touted by the mainstream media as a game changer. So far, the fighter jets have done nearly nothing of value for the UAF, which continues to rely on its aging Soviet-made fighter jets for most missions.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
