Ukraine is losing the US-supplied F-16 fighter jets under unclear circumstances, Military Watch Magazine publication reports.
Ukraine's Air Force reported the loss of one such aircraft during a combat mission on April 12. According to Ukrainian forces, they had to operate under extremely difficult conditions. The pilot of the aircraft, 26-year-old Pavel Ivanov, did not survive.
A special commission will conduct an investigation into the incident. As noted by Military Informant Telegram channel, the aircraft may have been downed by friendly fire, since the fighter jets supplied to Kyiv lack the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system.
This was already the second F-16 fighter jet shot down in Ukraine.
Yuriy Ihnat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, earlier stated that the American F-16s supplied to Ukraine would not be able to turn the tide of the conflict. According to him, they cannot compete with Russian Su-35s in one-on-one air combat.