File image.
The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) said on July 29 that a pilot ejected safely from an American-made F-16 fighter jet after the warplane developed a mid-flight malfunction during a combat mission near the front line.
The jet was intercepting aerial targets when contact was lost, according to a statement posted by the air force to Telegram.
“The pilot is currently safe,” the UAF said. “He has been successfully evacuated and taken to a medical facility for examination and diagnostics.”
Experts and law enforcement are working at the crash site, the air force added, noting that there were civilian casualties or property damage.
It is unclear how many F-16s Ukraine has so far received out of at least 85 pledged by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, but the number is thought to be between 25 and 30. All the fighter jets are from the older Block 15 model, although they received the Mid-Life Update.
Last year, the UAF admitted losing four of its F-16s. The first loss was reported in August, and the other three later, in April, May, and June.
Russian S-400 long-range air defense systems and R-37M long-range air-to-air missiles, typically launched from Su-35, Su-57 and MiG-31 fighter jets, were blamed for all previous losses. Both systems can engage targets like an F-16 from a range close to 400 kilometers.
While the UAF blames all the F-16 losses on incidents and malfunctions, there is a clear pattern suggesting that these fighter jets were purposefully targeted when they were scrambled to intercept Russian missiles and drones.
The F-16 was touted by the mainstream media in the West as “Wunderwaffe.” Nevertheless, these fighter jets have so far done nothing of value for the UAF. To this day, Ukraine continues to rely more on what is left of its aging Soviet-made fighter jets.
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the wunderwaffe rule of ukraine appears to have visible drawbacks. the incapability of globalists to manage their own economies brings us this symptom of the war disease. but realistically all of ukraine should be considered de-facto russian air space in these days. f 16’s platforms were never built to be drone hunting missile defense platforms. i smell bandaids