A Ukrainian F-16 pilot destroyed six cruise missiles in one flight for the first time during a massive air attack on December 13.
The pilot used four aircraft missiles and an aircraft cannon to destroy targets, demonstrating a high level of skill and cooperation with the command.
On the morning of December 13, 2024, there was a massive air attack by the occupiers: almost 200 enemy drones, Daggers, ballistics and 94 air, sea and ground-based cruise missiles.
It is the “winged ones” that are the main target of the Ukrainian fighter, Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, spoke about that battle.
The guidance navigator guided the F-16 pilot toward hostile targets, with a group of eight cruise missiles heading their way.
The F-16 approached to the appropriate distance.
I see obstacles – that means the missiles have their own electronic warfare – the so-called “electronic warfare personal protection equipment.” The sight of the F-ok is quite powerful, if the target is already in the sight, then even under the influence of electronic warfare it will not go anywhere from the radar of the on-board radar. a convenient distance for work, re-acquired the targets, launched the missiles one by one and… hit both targets, destroyed! – relayed a conversation with the pilot Ignat.
Under the wings of the F-16, the Ukrainian pilot has only four air-to-air missiles: medium and short range. Longer-range missiles were used first, then the pilot had to move closer to two miles to use short-range missiles.
I flew up to the second pair, grabbed the missiles, and saw that they were also “smelling Russian electronic warfare,” but that didn’t really help them. The first launch – the target was shot down, the second – too! There was no limit to my joy, because I saw all the hits on enemy missiles with my own eyes! There was still some fuel left in the outboard tanks, and the combat work continues… The guidance navigator gives me the command to go to the duty area to allow me to work on targets and gather on the Su-27.
The pilot followed the command from the control point and moved to a certain area. But another hostile target entered his course, which was apparently moving towards the capital.
Why not, the pilot thought and reported “to the ground” that he was ready to work.
The only weapon left on his F-16 was a rapid-fire aircraft cannon! The pilot began approaching the target.
“I understood that there was little chance of hitting a rocket flying at a speed of 650 km+,” says the pilot, “first you need to find it in the sky, align in height and, from a distance of no more than 500 meters, fire ahead. And flying closer is extremely dangerous – in the event of a 450 kg warhead detonating, there is a great risk for the aircraft, at the very least, to fly into a cloud of debris.
The pilot understood this, he knew how dangerous it was, how he was risking his life, and how to act correctly in this situation, because he had recently undergone retraining on the F-16 in the USA.
But there is one “but” – in the USA, pilots learned to shoot down air targets with an aircraft cannon exclusively on simulators. In a real flight, Ukrainian F-16 pilots never used the cannon against missiles.
At first I looked for the target below – nothing. Then he gained altitude, raised the radar and saw her. I did everything as the instructors in the USA taught me, as I practiced on the simulator. Several bursts from a cannon – and an explosion… then another! Repeated detonation… I thought, but, as it turned out, based on the results of objective control, there were two missiles! We flew in a “stack”, next to each other. The enemy often launches it in this tactical configuration, an entire group of enemy missiles can fly close to each other so that the enemy sees them as one target. Well, actually, I must have set a record that day. However, the main thing is the result! I am glad that I succeeded, I dedicate this success to all my brothers who went on an eternal flight without ever waiting for the F-16 in the Ukrainian sky.
Based on the results of objective control, there is one hundred percent confirmation of the fact that for the first time in history, an American F-16 fighter shot down six cruise missiles in anti-aircraft combat, two of them with an aircraft cannon.
When the pilot came in to land, he was greeted with applause and applause from the airfield’s fellow pilots and technicians who were preparing the aircraft for takeoff.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.