DefenseThe Ukrainian Air Force lost its third Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet in the early hours of May 16.
According to the service, the supersonic jet was taking part in a mission against Russian air targets when it lost contact at 03:30.
The pilot managed to eject safely after an emergency situation arose on board, the Air Force said.
“The pilot took the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected. Thanks to the operational work of the search and rescue team, the pilot was quickly found and evacuated,” the service said.
Before losing control, the F-16 shot down three targets and hit a fourth with the aircraft’s cannon.
“A commission has been appointed to objectively clarify all the circumstances, which has already begun work”, concluded the Air Force.
Third F-16 fighter lost
The circumstances of the crash have not been revealed. Among the hypotheses is damage caused by the debris of the targets.
In service since August 2024, the F-16 fighters are being transferred to the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and Denmark, countries that replaced them with the F-35A.
The combat aircraft were a request from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the country lost a large part of its fleet of MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters.
Although the first versions produced, the F-16s have received upgrade packages and are considered more capable and versatile than their Russian counterparts.
However, the rate of crashes has been surprising. The first of them was lost days after the baptism of fire in the war against Russia. The cause of the crash has never been clarified.
In April, another F-16 crashed, possibly shot down by a missile, but the perpetrator of the attack was not immediately known. In both cases, the pilots were killed.
It is not yet known how many aircraft have arrived in Ukraine, but around 80 jets are expected to be delivered. In addition, France has also been sending Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighters since the beginning of the year.
