Kiev said “an emergency occurred” on board the US-designed jet
The Ukrainian military has confirmed the loss of another US-designed F-16 fighter jet as it was repelling a Russian strike. This marks the third such incident since Kiev started receiving the advanced warplanes from the West.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, all communication with the jet was lost at approximately 3:30am on Friday while it was carrying out a defensive combat mission. No data was provided regarding the location of the crash.
Officials said that the unnamed pilot had “destroyed three aerial targets and was engaging a fourth using the aircraft’s cannon when an onboard emergency occurred.” The pilot steered the jet away from populated areas and ejected; he was later picked up by a rescue team in satisfactory condition.
A commission has been appointed to investigate the circumstances of the incident, the air force added.
The delivery of F-16 fighters from European NATO members to Ukraine was approved by former US President Joe Biden in August 2023, but the first jets did not arrive in the country until a year later. Kiev was promised a total of more than 80 jets, with many to be supplied in the years to come. It is unclear how many operational F-16s the country has at the moment.
The current F-16 crash is the third known reported case of Ukraine losing this type of jet. One jet was shot down by Russia in April 2025, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. At the time, Kiev confirmed that its pilot was killed during an “unidentified combat mission” but did not reveal any additional details. Another F-16 was lost in 2024 while responding to a Russian airstrike; its pilot was also killed.
Some Ukrainian officials had hoped that the F-16 would boost Ukraine’s air defenses, but Western experts had warned that it would be unlikely to significantly alter the situation on the battlefield. Later, officials in Kiev acknowledged that the F-16 could not withstand the most advanced Russian jets and complained about the numerous logistical hurdles involved in deploying the US-designed fighters.
Russia has condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, warning they only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukrainian-operated F-16s will “burn” just like other Western-supplied equipment.
