DefenseThe Ukrainian Air Force lost an F-16 fighter jet overnight on Saturday while helping to repel a massive drone and missile attack launched by Russia.
According to government officials, the pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, 31, died after the F-16 was seriously damaged – details of how this happened were not shared.
Ustymenko was said to have destroyed seven of the Russian devices, but was unable to eject in time when his fighter went out of control.
The Air Force said the June 29 strike was one of the largest ever, with 477 Shahed drones used as decoys, four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, seven Iskander ballistic missiles, five Kalibr cruise missiles and three S-300 missiles.
Third F-16 pilot killed in combat
Ustymenko is the third F-16 pilot to be killed in combat. The first fatality occurred in August last year on one of the fighter’s first missions when Lt. Col. Oleksii Mes crashed under unknown circumstances while shooting down missiles and drones.
In April, Pavlo Ivanov was reportedly killed during a mission after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.
On May 16, an F-16 fighter crashed during another air defense mission, but the pilot managed to eject safely.
Lockheed Martin fighters are being leased to countries including the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and Belgium. France has also been sending some Dassault Mirage 2000-5s to replace the aging Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-27 jets.
