A Ukrainian F-16 pilot claimed to have shot down six Russian cruise missiles in a single operation, despite only having four air-to-air missiles.
Two of these cruise missiles were destroyed by the aircraft’s cannon. Although the F-16 has been compared to Russian fighter jets, air-to-air combat between fighters are rare. Ukrainian F-16s appear to be mostly used for air defense (rumors of downing Russian fighter jets remain unproven).
Ukraine claims F-16 destroyed six Russian cruise missiles.
On January 7, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that an anonymous Ukrainian pilot shot down six Russian cruise missions on December 13th. Four cruise missiles are said to have been downed by the F-16’s missiles, and two by its gun. On December 13, 2024, Russia is said to have launched around 200 drones and 94 missiles.
Yurii Ihnat, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, claimed in an interview, “They say that even Americans couldn’t believe you did it.” It should be remembered that numerous statements are made during wars and cannot be independently verified (including this one).
According to Yurii, the Ukrainian F-16 carried only four air-to-air missiles (two medium-range and two short-range). These were probably AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
After destroying the first two missiles, the Ukrainian pilot explained, “I flew up to the second pair, locked on to the missiles, and observed that they were also ’emitting Russian EW signals,’ but it didn’t assist them much.
The first and second missiles each hit their targets! My delight knew no bounds because I had witnessed all of the impacts on enemy missiles firsthand!”
In terms of missiles, the F-16 pilot remembered how he had been trained with simulators. He recounted, “I performed everything the instructors in the US showed me while practicing on the simulator.
A couple rounds from the cannon resulted in an explosion, followed by another! Although I expected a repeat detonation, objective control revealed the presence of two missiles.
A similar incident occurred in 2024 during a US engagement. A US pilot flying an F-15E Strike Eagle downed Iranian drones as they sailed into Israel. He went “Winchester,” which meant he had run out of missiles. He then attempted to hit the slow-flying drones in the dark black with his cannon, but failed.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon has a single 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6-barrel rotary gun with 511 rounds (much more than the F-35A, which has only 180 rounds). The engagement demonstrates that autocannons on fighter jets are not obsolete—at least for now. The F-35B and F-35C versions lack an internal cannon, but can be outfitted with external gun pods.
Western military jets began arriving in Ukraine.
The first F-16s arrived in Ukraine in August 2024, although one crashed in suspicious circumstances while attacking Russian drones. It’s probable that the F-16 accidentally rammed the slow-flying drone.
Ukraine has already received the first two batches of F-16 Fighting Falcons promised by European partners. Ukraine is projected to receive approximately 100 F-16s in total (the last being delivered in 2028). The US Air Force still operates around 750 F-16s, with many decommissioned.
However, none of the committed airframes originated in the United States (they came from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, and maybe Greece).
Ukraine faces a major challenge in training enough pilots to deploy the F-16s. The country plans to abbreviate the training program. Separately, France is due to deliver over the first three Mirage 2000-5F fighter jets this month, out of a total of ten anticipated.