The Kremlin says a US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet was shot down over the Zaporizhzhia region earlier this week.
“An F-16 aircraft was shot down in the Zaporizhzhia region at its takeoff site“, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti stated via the social messaging app Telegram on Thursday.
According to Vladimir Rogov, a senior representative of the region’s Russian administration, “the F-16 aircraft was downed when preparing for a missile strike on the region“.
The US Department of Defense has refused to confirm or deny the shoot-down, instead referring journalists to Kiev for questions and comments.
There have also been reports of Russia shooting down F-16s in the past, but these have not been verified. In August, however, one of the American multi-role aircraft was destroyed – just weeks after it was delivered to Kiev.
According to the Ukrainian military, the plane crashed during a Russian attack, but it remains unclear whether the plane was actually eliminated by Russian forces – or whether it was Ukraine itself that accidentally shot it down or otherwise destroyed it.
Costing tens of millions
Each fighter jet is estimated to cost the equivalent of around €25 million or more and is said to be more difficult to shoot down than other planes as they can be fitted with jamming pods and other advanced equipment.
Although the F-16 was developed for the US Air Force, it is currently used by some 20 countries around the world and a total of almost 5 000 have been produced.
Israel was the first country to use the aircraft in combat when a Syrian-made PLO helicopter was shot down over Lebanon in 1981. Since then, the model has been used in numerous wars and conflicts around the world – including Afghanistan, Iraq and Yugoslavia.
