Russian servicemen to be paid $170,000 for shooting down first F-16 fighter jet

The serviceman who will be the first to shoot down an American F-16 fighter jet will receive an award worth 15 million rubles ($170,000), Russian company FORES said.

Company director Ilya Potanin said that those who will shoot down F-16s or F-15s in the zone of the special military operation afterwards would also receive financial awards. Yet, the award for the first downed US fighter jet will be the largest, Potanin said.

FORES specializes in the production of ceramic proppants for oil wells. Ilya Potanin also said that he awards Russian fighters for destroyed Abrams and Leopard tanks. For each tank, the military received 500,000 rubles ($5,700).

F-16s already heading to Kyiv

Earlier in July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States and its NATO allies were sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The jets are expected to enter service in Ukraine during the summer of this year.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed that F-16s would take part in battles in the summer of 2024.

"We promised that F-16s would fight in the Ukrainian skies in the summer of 2024, and this promise has been fulfilled,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said.