File image.
The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) acknowledged on May 16 that it had lost yet another American-made F-16 fighter jet during a combat mission.
The air control center first lost communication with the pilot early in the morning, the press service of the air force said in a post to Telegram.
When an “emergency situation” developed on the plane, the pilot “successfully maneuvered the jet away from populated areas and ejected safely,” it added, noting that the pilot was quickly located and evacuated, and his condition was reported as stable.
An official commission has been established to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident, and its work is already underway, according to the air force.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the incident. However, according to military monitoring channels on Telegram, Ukraine was under a large-scale Russian drone attack early in the morning when the fighter jet was lost.
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. All jets are from the older Block 15 model, although they received the Mid-Life Update.
Including the last loss, at least three of the UAF’s F-16s have been already confirmed to be destroyed. Russian S-400 long-range air defense systems and R-37M long-range air-to-air missiles – typically launched from MiG-31, Su-35 or Su-57 fighter jets – were blamed for the previous two losses.
The F-16 was touted by the mainstream media in the West as a game changer, and even a “Wunderwaffe”. Yet, the fighter jets have so far done nearly nothing of value for the UAF, which continues to rely more on its aging Soviet-made fighter jets.
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