LOL, something killed Russia's newest jet.
Posted on 07/22/2026 5:35:53 PM PDT by Apparatchik
In the skies over eastern Ukraine, an aging F-16 fighter jet has reportedly scored a rare victory against one of Russia’s most advanced warplanes, the Su-35.
The US has finally confirmed what the Ukrainians claimed earlier this month: a Ukrainian F-16 fighter, donated by NATO, may have downed a Russian Su-35 Flanker-E, the backbone of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS).
“I want to highlight the incredible work that the Ukrainian industrial base is doing. It ranges from their surface-to-air capabilities to their air-to-air capabilities. I’ll note that recently we had the first air-to-air kill where a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter,” Air Force General Dan Caine, Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Appropriations Committee. A video clip of his testimony was posted on social media and has since gone viral.
Notably, General Caine did not name the Russian aircraft type, but observers believe that the timing and context “almost certainly” point to the claimed Su-35 kill earlier this month.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurasiantimes.com ...
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I think we’d all like to know the circumstances of the kill.
Pretty sure the F-16 did little but drop a REALLY GOOD air-to-air missile of the rail.
Per the article “The Russian pilot allegedly walked into the trap and was subsequently shot down in an air-to-air engagement, most likely by an AIM-120 AMRAAM fired from the F-16.”
Russia lost the Ukraine War it’s all over the propaganda is certainly pie in the sky.
Der...I read F-35 instead of Su-35.
An F16 is incredibly maneuverable, probably as good as anything in the air today. It’s a damned fine airframe.
Having said that, the SU36 fire control systems are somewhat more powerful. F16s are small, you’re not going to shove the latest and greatest into it. Beyond-visual-range engagements will go the the SU35. You gotta figure out a way to get close before the SU finds you.
The avionics have been upgraded since I worked them back in 79-80 time frame. Their missile capability was AIM9s back then. The article says an AIM120 was launched from the F16. That’s a Helluva Upgrade.
Article also states some unusual tactics were used involving multiple F16s. Specifics were vague and probably some guessing going on. Betcha there are a lot of people studying that intercept and kill right now.
Yeah I read the article - I have my armor on. Go ahead and shoot (grin).
Bkmk
The Ghost of Kiev lives!
Training.
Just do it.
.
September 1991: USAF declared IOC for the AIM-120 on F-15 Eagles (the first platform).
January 1992: IOC followed on F-16 Fighting Falcons.
1992 onward: The missile was operationally deployed to the Persian Gulf for use on both F-15s and F-16s.
December 27, 1992: First combat use (and first F-16 air-to-air kill) occurred during Operation Southern Watch, when an F-16C downed an Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat with an AIM-120A.
“The avionics have been upgraded since I worked them back in 79-80 time frame. “
a block-15 maybe?
Oh yippee. Russia can surrender now.
Bo Jackson approves of this statement.
Its a little more complicated, since Ukraine only has older F16's with a radar range of 52 miles vs the Russian Su-35 radar range of 124-155 miles.
Ukraine's pilots operate Block 15 variants with the APG-66(V)2 radar which has a maximum air-to-air detection range is 83 km (52 miles) vs the Russian Su-35 Flanker-E which is equipped with the N035 Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar which has an effective detection range between 200 to 250 kilometers (124–155 miles).
Interestingly, several Ukraine-linked OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) channels earlier claimed that the kill was achieved as a result of a coordinated ambush involving three F-16s, as well as a Patriot surface-to-air missile.
According to claims, one F-16 reportedly flew lower and acted as bait for the Russian Su-35. It allegedly simulated an attack to draw the Russian pilot into a vulnerable position, while the other two F-16s partaking in the operation provided cover from a higher altitude.
Meanwhile, the Patriot system, positioned relatively close to the line of contact, played a key supporting role by illuminating the target with its radar. This essentially enabled the Ukrainian F-16s to engage effectively, potentially by exploiting blind spots or limitations in the Su-35’s radar awareness.
The Russian pilot allegedly walked into the trap and was subsequently shot down in an air-to-air engagement, most likely by an AIM-120 AMRAAM fired from the F-16.
LOL, something killed Russia's newest jet.
Russia has always been absolute shit on the battlefield.
The original design of the Su-35, Su-27, is only 11 years younger than the F-16’s. So it was a Soviet design.
But it is crazy to think that we are still using 50 and 40 year old designs in combat. That would be the equivalent of flying Sopwith Camels in Vietnam.
Oh, except maybe 1812, 1854, 1943, 1945, right jackA ?
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