The Su-35’s loss was first reported earlier in July, but was initially attributed to a Ukrainian anti-air missile system and not the Fighting Falcon.

This week during testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told lawmakers that a Ukrainian F-16 Fighting Falcon had scored an air-to-air kill, downing an unidentified Russian jet fighter. If confirmed, it would be the first successful aerial victory of the US-made single-engine multirole fighter—coming nearly two years after Kyiv received the first batch of the aircraft.

“We recently witnessed the first air-to-air engagement in which a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter,” Caine said, citing the incident as evidence that Ukraine had expanded its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) air defense network.

“Over the past several years, with the support of many partners, Ukraine has significantly strengthened its layered defense system,” Caine added.

Russia Might Have Lost an Su-35 Flanker-E/M

Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi reported after Caine’s remarks that the F-16 had shot down a Russian Su-35 Flanker-E/M on July 8, 2026. The Armed Forces of Ukraine had previously reported the shootdown, but did not initially identify the platform responsible.

Russian military bloggers on Telegram—who have become increasingly critical of the handling of the war, leading to tensions with the Kremlin and an informal blacklisting from Russian state-run media outlets—also reported the Su-35’s loss, although they noted that the Russian pilot survived and was rescued. At the time, the milbloggers claimed that the aircraft had been shot down by a US-made MIM-104 Patriot anti-air missile, perhaps to avoid giving credit to the F-16.

Though Caine’s remarks mark the first public confirmation of a Russian aircraft lost to an F-16, it may not be the first. In October 2024, a prominent pro-Russian aviation Telegram channel known as “Fighterbomber” posted an apparent tribute to a downed Su-34 Fullback; speculation circulated at the time that the aircraft had been downed by an F-16. Ukraine did not comment on the alleged Su-34 incident, and hard physical evidence about the specific aircraft involved was never made public.

Ukraine Probably Has Around Three Dozen F-16s in Service

NATO members Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway each pledged to deliver F-16s to Ukraine as part of an international coalition. The number of aircraft now in service with the Ukrainian Air Force hasn’t been disclosed for security reasons, but it is estimated that Kyiv has received around 35 to 39 of the fighters.

Since their arrival, the Fighting Falcons—although they are older models made between 1982 and 1990 and lack some of the capabilities of the newest variants—have been heavily employed by the Ukrainian Air Force, flying approximately 80 percent of the country’s combat sorties to intercept Russian missiles and drones.

The United States has not supplied any combat-ready Fighting Falcons from its own stocks. However, in the spring of 2025, Washington did supply Kyiv with some retired “non-flyable” fighters from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group’s storage and maintenance facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), Tucson, Arizona, presumably for the Ukrainians to cannibalize for spare parts.

Issues have remained in the supply chain. Earlier this year, it was also reported that Ukraine’s fleet of F-16s lacked US-made missiles for several weeks.

Did the F-16 Beat the Su-35 in a Dogfight? Certainly Not

Though many details of the shootdown remain unknown, it is safe to say that it did not take place after a close-quarters dogfight. Such aerial engagements are virtually non-existent over Ukraine because both sides have highly dense, overlapping surface-to-air missile (SAM) networks, including the American Patriot and the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense systems. This makes it safer for both sides’ aircraft to remain on their own side of the line of contact and shoot at each other from afar.

The circumstances around the shootdown remain unknown, but it almost certainly bore no resemblance to a Top Gun movie. Flying into contested airspace close enough for a traditional within-visual-range (WVR) dogfight would be suicidal. Most aircraft are now shot down Beyond Visual Range (BVR), which has become the cornerstone of modern military aviation. That doesn’t negate the success that a Ukrainian F-16 may have achieved over a Russian fighter, and actually makes it just as impressive, given that the F-16 lacks stealth features.

This incident also comes just over six months after Kyiv confirmed that it had lost one of its Fighting Falcons to a Russian S-300 air defense unit.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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