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Business Standard
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Ukrainian F-16 goes down after technical issue; pilot ejects safely
Ukraine's Air Force lost an F-16 fighter jet on Friday morning when an incident occurred on board. However, the pilot ejected the fighter jet, Reuters reported, citing a Ukrainian air force statement. In a statement shared on Telegram, Ukraine's air force said, "According to preliminary data... an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected." The air force further said that the pilot was feeling fine, Reuters reported. It hinted that the crash did not seem to be the result of Russian fire, and a commission had been appointed to carry out a probe into all the circumstances of the incident. Ukranian news website The Kyiv Independent reported, citing the Air Force that the Ukrainian Air Force "lost contact" with an F-16 aircraft during a mission to repel a Russian aerial attack overnight on May 16, following an emergency situation on board. The pilot diverted the plane away from populated areas and ejected, after which the search and rescue team found him, according to the statement. The Kyiv Independent further reported that according to preliminary data, the F-16 pilot destroyed three Russian aerial targets and was targeting a fourth one with an aircraft cannon. After an unspecified emergency, the contact was lost at around 3:30 am (local time), forcing the pilot to eject from the aircraft. The Air Force did not share further details regarding the plane's ultimate fate or its likely crash site. Earlier in August last year, the Ukrainian Air Force lost its first F-16 fighter jet in a crash, leading to the death of its pilot, Oleksii Mes. A second F-16 pilot, Pavlo Ivanov, was killed during a combat mission in April. Ukraine received its first US-made F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark in 2024 and started using them to counter Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ukraine loses F-16: pilot diverts jet from populated area and successfully ejects
Ukraine's Air Force has lost an F-16 aircraft. A pilot encountered an emergency situation on board while repelling a Russian aerial attack but managed to steer the aircraft away from a populated area and successfully ejected. Source: Ukraine's Air Force Details: Contact with the F-16 aircraft was lost at around 03:30 on 16 May. It was repelling a Russian aerial strike at the time. "Early reports indicate that the pilot destroyed three aerial targets and was engaging a fourth using the aircraft gun. However, an emergency situation occurred on board. The pilot steered the aircraft away from a populated area and successfully ejected," the statement reads. A source from the Air Force told Ukrainska Pravda that "friendly fire" is ruled out in this case. The search and rescue team quickly located and evacuated the pilot. "The pilot is in a satisfactory condition, in a safe place and his life and health are not in danger. A commission has been appointed to objectively clarify all the circumstances and it has begun work," the Air Force concluded. Background: In August 2024, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while repelling a Russian missile strike. Oleksii Mes, the pilot of the aircraft, was killed. Pavlo Ivanov, a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 fighter jet pilot, was killed in action on Saturday 12 April. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Iraqi News
16-05-2025
- Iraqi News
Ukraine 'lost contact' with F-16 during combat, pilot ejected, Air Force says
INA- SOURCES The Air Force "lost contact" with an F-16 jet during a mission to repel a Russian aerial attack overnight on May 16 following an emergency situation on board, the Air Force reported. The pilot diverted the plane away from populated areas and ejected, after which he was found by a search and rescue team, according to the statement. According to preliminary data, the F-16 pilot destroyed three Russian aerial targets and was attacking a fourth one with an aircraft cannon. Following an unspecified emergency, contact was lost at around 3:30 a.m., forcing the pilot to eject. The Air Force did not provide further details on the plane's ultimate fate or its likely crash site. "The pilot's condition is satisfactory, he is safe and his life and health are not in danger," the statement read. Ukraine received its first U.S.-made fourth-generation F-16 jets from the Netherlands and Denmark in 2024, deploying them to counter Russian missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force lost its first F-16 aircraft in a crash in August 2024, leading to the death of its pilot, Oleksii Mes. A second F-16 pilot, Pavlo Ivanov, was killed during a combat mission this April.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy posthumously awards Hero of Ukraine title to pilot Oleksii Mes who died in F-16 crash
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine along with the Order of the Gold Star to Ukrainian pilot Oleksii "Moonfish" Mes, who died in an F-16 crash on 26 August 2024 while engaging in combat during a Russian missile attack. Source: Decree No. 165/2025 Quote: "For personal courage and heroism demonstrated in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for selfless service to the Ukrainian people, I hereby decree: To posthumously award the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Gold Star to Colonel Oleksii Serhiiovych Mes." For reference: Oleksii Mes was one of the first Ukrainian pilots to master flying F-16 fighter jets. In autumn 2023, he trained in Denmark alongside other Ukrainian pilots. Background: During the night and morning of 26 August 2024, Russian forces launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine's civilian and energy infrastructure, using over 100 missiles and approximately 100 Shahed attack drones. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed in Ukraine on 26 August. Later, Ukraine's Air Force confirmed that pilot Oleksii Mes died that day while repelling Russia's large-scale combined missile and aircraft attack. Ukraine's General Staff also confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while intercepting Russian missile strikes. In September, Breaking Defense reported that the crash may have been caused by debris from a downed Russian missile. On 14 February, The Wall Street Journal published an article suggesting that the fighter jet may have been downed by friendly fire from a Patriot air defence system, although Ukraine has not officially confirmed this. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WSJ: Ukraine may have shot down its F-16 over summer due to "US overcautiousness"
The Wall Street Journal has published a column on the probable cause of the F-16 fighter jet crash that resulted in the death of pilot Oleksii Mes on 26 August 2024. The newspaper writes that it was friendly fire from a Patriot air defence system, although Ukraine has not officially reported this. Source: Jillian Kay Melchior's column in The Wall Street Journal Details: The disaster, the sources said, may have been caused by the Link 16 friend and foe system, which was disabled on the Patriots handed over to Ukraine. The Link 16 tactical network provides a real-time overview of all elements of the system – aircraft, ground units, air defence assets and command. This makes operations safer for allies and more deadly for the opponent. Link 16 also reduces the risk to pilots during flights. The first Patriot air defence systems arrived in Ukraine in April 2023. WSJ cites Dariia Kaleniuk, co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory, as saying that the Patriot was disconnected from Link 16 because no one expected Ukraine to receive F-16 fighters. And when the West approved the transfer of the fighter jets a few months later, "that was not fixed". As the author suggests, Link 16 is such an important and sensitive tool that the US may have been unwilling to provide it to Ukraine due to the excessive caution characteristic of the Biden administration's policy towards Ukraine. The Pentagon responded to Melchior's request by saying that it does not comment on the configuration of weapons provided to partners and advised to contact the Ukrainian side. Sources claim that efforts are underway to address this shortcoming but refused to provide details. Background: On 29 August, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that an F-16 fighter jet was destroyed in a plane crash in Ukraine on 26 August. Also on 26 August, Air Command Zakhid (West) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian pilot Oleksii Mes was killed while repelling a large-scale Russian combined missile and drone attack on 26 August. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that an F-16 fighter jet crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, and the pilot died. Support UP or become our patron!
