Quote:Ukraine has confirmed the loss of its first F-16 fighter and one of its pilots in a crash during a combat mission earlier this week. The incident is a significant blow for the Ukrainian Air Force, which has so far only received a small number of the jets, and more importantly, only a handful of combat-qualified F-16 pilots.
In a post on Facebook, Air Command “West” of the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that Oleksiy Mes died last Monday, August 26, but not before he shot down three Russian cruise missiles and a single one-way attack drone. This was part of an attempt to repulse a major Russian missile and drone attack directed against Ukraine, the largest of the war so far, which you can read more about here.
The aircraft type Mes was flying was not initially named but was subsequently confirmed by the Ukrainian General Staff as an F-16, adding that the same type shot down four Russian cruise missiles during the same raid.
https://www.twz.com/air/ukrainian-pilot-...-f-16-loss