the incident surprised the west and dealt a heavy blow to ukraine
2024-08-31
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the ukrainian military confirmed on august 29 that an f-16 fighter jet aided by western allies crashed while carrying out a counter-russian mission, killing a ukrainian ace pilot who was flying the aircraft. this incident surprised western public opinion, and it happened only a few weeks after the first batch of f-16 fighter jets arrived in ukraine. ukraine is currently believed to have 6 f-16 fighter jets.
the wall street journal said that the crash of one of ukraine's few f-16 fighter jets and the death of a well-known pilot were a heavy blow to ukraine. ukraine has always hoped that advanced western fighter jets can give the ukrainian army an advantage on the battlefield, especially to shoot down russian missiles and provide protection for front-line troops. however, many of the f-16 fighter jets received by ukraine are second-hand and have a flying history of decades. these fighter jets themselves may be attacked by russian air defense missiles and are "high-value attack targets."
the us website forbes commented that the death of an ace pilot was a greater loss than the plane crash. ukraine currently has only a handful of pilots who can fly f-16 fighter jets. on the 30th, many media published articles analyzing the cause of the crash of the ukrainian f-16, with pilot operating errors and mechanical failures being highlighted. the ukrainian military stressed that the fighter jet "was not hit by an enemy missile." there are also reports that the fighter jet was shot down by the patriot anti-missile system provided by the united states to ukraine.
ace pilot died
on august 26, russia launched a large-scale air strike on multiple military and energy infrastructure targets in ukraine. against the backdrop of the escalating military confrontation between russia and ukraine over the kursk offensive and defensive battle, such large-scale air strikes by the russian military have become the norm. according to russian media reports, the news about the crash of an f-16 in ukraine first came after the russian military launched the attack on the 26th, but was quickly deleted.
the wall street journal reported that the ukrainian air force issued a statement on the 29th, confirming that a ukrainian f-16 fighter jet crashed on the 26th and the pilot was killed. the statement said that the fighter jet was taking off to respond to the large-scale missile attack launched by russia on ukraine. the ukrainian general staff said that the f-16 fighter jet involved lost contact while completing a target mission and flying to the next target. preliminary reports showed that the fighter jet "was not shot down by enemy fire." a person close to the ukrainian military revealed that the cause of the crash is unknown and an investigation is underway.
the deceased pilot was named oleksiy max, one of the first ukrainian pilots to receive f-16 fighter training and was quite famous. the wall street journal revealed that max, nicknamed "moonfish", had appeared in the media many times before and had traveled to the united states to participate in lobbying to promote the united states to provide fighter jets to ukraine. u.s. congressman kinzinger met with max and another well-known ukrainian pilot, pirshchikov, in 2022. on the 29th, kinzinger posted on social media that when they met, "there was an ominous feeling, and i thought they would not survive this war." pirshchikov died in a flight training accident in 2023.
max's funeral was held on the 29th. the british broadcasting corporation (bbc) quoted a statement from the ukrainian military saying that before his death, max drove an f-16 fighter jet to destroy three russian missiles and a drone. he has been posthumously awarded the rank of colonel.
according to the forbes website, the f-16 fighter jet that crashed on the 26th was provided by denmark. the united states did not directly provide f-16 fighter jets to ukraine, but since us president biden agreed to provide ukraine with the fighter jets in august last year, the united states' nato allies denmark, belgium, the netherlands and norway have pledged to provide ukraine with more than 85 f-16 fighter jets. the first batch of fighter jets arrived in ukraine earlier this month. it is reported that the loss caused by the death of the pilot is greater than the loss caused by the plane crash. dozens of ukrainian pilots are currently receiving training in arizona, the united states and romania. with the delivery of more f-16 fighter jets, more pilots will return to ukraine. the report said: "f-16 combat damage is inevitable, but it is a tragedy to lose an f-16 on its first combat mission."
there are many different opinions on the cause of the crash
in recent days, there have been various speculations about the cause of the f-16 crash. the british "guardian" said that the main reasons mentioned so far are pilot error and mechanical failure.
cnn reported that ukrainian pilots began receiving f-16 flight training in the united states last fall. "it takes several years to fully master f-16 flight skills, but max and others completed the training within half a year." the report also said that the f-16 is not omnipotent and its strength is inferior to russia's most advanced fighter jets. once an air duel with russia's advanced models occurs, it is likely to be defeated.
the wall street journal also used a lot of space to describe the problem of "inadequate training" of ukrainian pilots. the report said that us officials had warned that there were dangers in allowing inexperienced f-16 pilots to participate in combat. ukrainian pilots such as max who flew f-16s were previously able to skillfully fly soviet-made fighters. they participated in a rapid training course to learn how to operate american jets. the report said that a newly recruited american f-16 pilot usually does not participate in combat within a few months after completing training, but spends more time flying with the troops in the country. another us official said that the f-16 fighter pilot training course for ukrainian pilots was "not standard" but focused on specific tasks they might face in combat, "frankly, there are risks."
russia is also paying attention to this incident. according to the moscow komsomolets newspaper on the 30th, russian military expert kirill fedorov believes that there are three possible reasons for the crash of the ukrainian f-16: first, the aircraft was destroyed by russian missiles or drones while on the ground, and the ukrainian authorities concealed the truth of the incident; second, the f-16 may have collided with an incoming russian drone in the air or was hit by drone debris; third, the f-16 was mistakenly hit by ukraine's own patriot air defense missiles. the information released by the ukrainian authorities stated that the f-16 was intercepting incoming russian missiles and drones before it disappeared from the radar, so the third possibility is more likely.
mariana bezuglaya, a member of the ukrainian verkhovna rada (parliament) and deputy chairwoman of the national security and defense committee, posted on the social platform telegram on the 29th that according to the information she had, the f-16 crashed due to a problem in coordination between ukrainian troops and was accidentally hit by a patriot anti-aircraft missile. this further increased the spread of the claim that the fighter jet was "accidentally hit by friendly forces."
a military blogger who is certified as a former russian fighter-bomber pilot wrote on telegram that whether the fighter plane malfunctioned or collided with some objects in the air, the pilot could eject normally to escape or directly destroy the obstacle. the pilot did not have the opportunity to eject because the patriot air defense missile hit the plane from above. the blogger believes that the united states did not install the friend-or-foe identification system on the patriot air defense missile or the f-16 fighter.
according to a report by the russian satellite network on the 30th, rodion miroshnik, the russian foreign ministry's ambassador-at-large for ukrainian issues, sarcastically said that the ukrainian f-16 fighter jet was mistakenly shot down by the "patriot" anti-missile system, which set a good precedent for ukrainians to use the united states' "magic weapon": american missiles hit american aircraft.
"who blinked first?"
the pentagon has refused to confirm the speculation, with only an unnamed source telling the media that the f-16 fighter jet was not shot down by russia. a pentagon spokesman also said ukraine did not invite the us to participate in the investigation of the crash.
ukrainian president zelensky revealed on the 29th that ukraine used f-16 fighter jets to shoot down russian missiles in combat for the first time this week. forbes news network said that the crash highlighted the intensity of ukraine's air war. since the outbreak of the russian-ukrainian conflict, the ukrainian air force has lost more than 90 aircraft, accounting for 2/3 of the number of aircraft in the ukrainian air force before the conflict broke out. as the war continues, it is estimated that the ukrainian air force will lose several aircraft every month, and it is inevitable that more f-16 fighter jets will crash or be shot down in the future.
the russian ministry of defense said on the 30th that in the past week, the russian army used weapons such as "dagger" missiles to launch large-scale attacks on ukraine's key energy facilities and airport facilities, and carried out 14 cluster strikes.
nbc reported on the 30th that a western intelligence official said that russia and ukraine "seem to be playing a game of who blinks first". it has been three weeks since the ukrainian army entered kursk, russia, but russia did not send the necessary troops to drive the ukrainian army away, but continued to advance in eastern ukraine. now, both armies seem to be focused on fighting and making progress on enemy territory, even if it means opening the door in their own backyard. the fate of the ukrainian army in kursk depends on the thinking of the russian government and the war in the east.
sui xin, special correspondent of global times in russia, zhen xiang, special correspondent of global times
