A Ukrainian F-16 has shot down a Russian fighter jet in aerial combat for the first time
During hearings before the US Senate Appropriations Committee on 21 July, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Daniel Kane, stated that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet had shot down a Russian aircraft in aerial combat for the first time.
During the hearings, Democratic Senator Richard Durbin asked what the consequences for Ukraine might be if funding for air defence systems were to be suspended for three years. In response, Kane spoke about the development of Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
“I would like to highlight the work being done by the Ukrainian industrial base in scaling up its own capabilities. This covers everything from their ‘surface-to-air’ capabilities to ‘air-to-air’ capabilities,” said the general.
He also noted: “We recently had our first aerial victory, when a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter.”
According to Kane, Ukraine’s ability to build a layered defence has increased significantly over the past few years.
The article also notes that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had previously reported the destruction of a MiG-29 fighter and a ‘Pantsir-S1’ anti-aircraft missile and gun system during an operation at the ‘Khalino’ airfield in the Kursk region.
Furthermore, it is mentioned that it was previously reported that the Security Service of Ukraine had carried out a strike on the ‘Engels 2’ military airfield in the Saratov region of the Russian Federation, as a result of which, according to the source, a Tu-95 strategic bomber was seriously damaged.
The article also quotes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the destruction of the Russian Tu-95 in Engels. According to him, Russia uses such aircraft for missile strikes on Ukraine, and the distance from the Ukrainian state border to the destroyed aircraft is around 800 kilometres.
