KYIV, Ukraine \u2014 A Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter jet for the first time since the American-designed planes arrived on the battlefield in 2024, the top-ranking U.S. general told Congress on Tuesday, emphasizing the impressive progress of Kyiv\u2019s air defense forces in shielding the country\u2019s skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed to the kill at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing while being asked about a three-year halt in U.S. air-defense funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to highlight the incredible work the Ukraine industrial base is doing as they scale their own capabilities,\u201d Caine said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRecently we had the first air-to-air kill where a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter, so I think their ability to scale their layered defense has come a long way over the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Caine did not specify which type of Russian aircraft was taken out, Ukraine\u2019s Air Force<\/a> announced earlier this month that it had shot down a Russian Su-35 on the eastern front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until now, Ukraine has primarily used its F\u201116s to defensively knock down incoming drones and cruise missiles \u2014 not offensively hunting enemy aircraft. The air-to-air kill is the latest example of Kyiv\u2019s rapidly expanded air defense network forged after persevering through years of full-scale war, Caine said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia\u2019s defense ministry has not acknowledged the loss. Pro-Russian military bloggers on Telegram<\/a> confirmed a Su-35 went down and said the pilot survived and ejected safely, while other Russian channels claimed a Patriot battery delivered the fatal shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukraine\u2019s F-16s have shot down 2,200 of roughly 3,000 Russian drones and missiles it has intercepted, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told Dutch broadcaster NOS<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The kills are in spite of the technical advantages favoring Russia\u2019s Su-35 over Ukraine\u2019s F-16s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of it\u2019s F\u201116s were given to Kyiv by the Netherlands and Denmark, who sent rebuilt 1970s\u2011 and 1980s\u2011era F\u201116A and B airframes \u2014 closer to the F\u201116s that the U.S. Air Force flew in the early 2000s than to today\u2019s newer models, according to a Sandboxx<\/a> analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Su\u201135S is one of the most modern fighters Moscow flies and usually comes out as the winner in a long\u2011range fight, experts say<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its Irbis\u2011E radar can detect a fighter\u2011sized target at up to 250 miles (400 km) in a narrow search mode, according to its Russian manufacturer, far beyond the range of the 1990s\u2011era AN\/APG\u201166(V)2 radar on Ukraine\u2019s F\u201116s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Su\u201135 also has the advantage of carrying the longer\u2011reaching R\u201177M missile, which Moscow credits with a range of roughly 120 miles (190 km), against the 75 to 100 miles of the AIM\u2011120C\u20118 AMRAAMs Ukraine is known to field, according to The War Zone<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allies have taken notice of Kyiv\u2019s recent battlefield successes, signing billions in arms contracts<\/a> with Kyiv since the war with Iran drove up demand for the latest defense tech from Europe and the Middle East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukraine\u2019s homegrown interceptor\u2011drone industry<\/a> has scaled rapidly in the past year, with some producers now capable of turning out over 100,000 drones per month, officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Washington is also inching toward a multibillion dollar weapons\u2011production deal<\/a> with Kyiv. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ukrainian armed forces are \u201cthe strongest, most powerful armed forces<\/a> in all of Europe,\u201d Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May, months before the CIA director confirmed last week that Russian recruits last just 20 to 30 minutes<\/a> after arriving on the battlefield thanks to Ukraine\u2019s fierce drone fighting tactics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The kill, confirmed by the top U.S. general, is the latest sign of Kyiv’s growing air power \u2014 pulled off by one of the oldest fighters in the sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[160,29,46,11,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3480],"class_list":["post-73204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"GYUKFRIZV5BYFNBTP2UCP74YCU","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2026\/07\/23\/incredible-work-ukrainian-f-16-downs-russian-fighter-jet-for-first-time\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nhttps:\/\/x.com\/Osinttechnical\/status\/2079673036609851665<\/a><\/blockquote><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n