The Ukrainian Air Force lost one of its F-16 fighter jets on Monday while helping to repel a massive Russian cruise missile and drone strike.
The information was confirmed after being revealed by Western outlets. According to CNN, pilot Oleksiy “Moonfish” Mes died in the crash.
A post by the Air Force Command on social media said that Mes shot down four missiles before the crash, whose causes are being investigated.
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Ukraine received its first F-16s in late July and the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had presented the aircraft on August 4.
This week, Zelensky also revealed the baptism of fire of the Lockheed Martin jets, precisely during the Russian strike on Monday.
It is not yet known how many F-16s have been sent to the country, but sources told The Times that six aircraft have been delivered. All belonged to Denmark, one of four European countries that have announced the donation of their fighters.
Reports say Ukraine is expected to receive around 85 second-hand F-16s that were operated by the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, in addition to Denmark.
Equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, as well as electronic countermeasures pods, the Western jets are Ukraine’s hope of countering Russian air supremacy and preventing constant attacks on the country.
However, experts believe that the F-16s will not be a silver bullet that can turn the tide of the war.
Without sufficient training time, Ukrainian pilots will be slow to take full advantage of the aircraft, Western military officials believe.
