A Top Gun pilot has set a new record in Ukraine’s history using a F-16 fighter pilot, after he shot down six Putin cruise missiles in a single combat mission.
The air assault happened as Russia unleashed almost 200 drones into the sky, as well as Kinzhals, ballistics, sea and land-based cruise missiles on December 13.
The unnamed pilot was under orders to knock down the cruise missiles and admitted the chances of hitting a missile, travelling over 400mph, were slim.
‘First, you need to find it in the sky, level off in altitude, and, from a distance of no more than 500 meters [1,640ft], fire ahead,’ he said.
‘Shooting down cruise missiles with cannon is very risky due to the high speed of the target and the risk of detonation.
‘But I acted as the instructors in the USA taught me, and I managed to hit.
‘As it turned out, two missiles that were flying next to each other were destroyed at the same time.’
Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, chief spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said that on returning to the ground the pilot was greeted with ‘applause and ovations’ from his fellow comrades.
A Top Gun pilot has set a new record in Ukraine’s history using a F-16 fighter pilot, after he shot down six Putin cruise missiles in a single combat mission
The unnamed pilot was under orders to knock down the cruise missiles and was flying an F-16 fighter pilot
Recounting the events, Ihnat said: ‘Let me remind you what happened in the skies over Ukraine on the morning of December 13, 2024.
‘A massive air attack by the occupiers, almost 200 enemy drones in the sky, Kinzhals [Dagger hypersonic missiles], ballistics, and 94 air, sea and land-based cruise missiles.’
The pilot was flying a US-made F-16 ‘Fighter Falcon’ which were delivered to Ukraine for the first time in August last year, marking a crucial milestone in the war.
He unloaded his four four air-to-air missiles onboard his warplane, shooting down four cruise missiles with direct hits.
Then he used his aircraft cannon to protect Ukraine from more incoming missiles during one of the most intense Putin attacks of the war.
Pictured: Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, chief spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command
Ihnat added: ‘Based on the results of objective control, we have 100 per cent confirmation of the fact that for the first time in history, an American F-16fighter has shot down six cruise missiles in an anti-aircraft battle, two of them using an aircraft cannon.
‘And it is done by a Ukrainian.’
Ukraine lacked modern modifications on their warplanes but ‘young Ukrainian pilots prove every day that they are the best, whether in the cockpit of a Soviet or American fighter’.
He said: ‘Just imagine what a formidable deterrent force in the center of Europe the war-hardened Ukrainian pilots will be when, say, the F-35s enter service with the [Ukrainian] Air Force.’
The achievement follows those of a Ukrainian Top Gun pilot who successfully destroyed one of Putin’s bridges in Kursk with US-made missiles.
Major Vadym Voroshylov, 30, led the mission, during which Ukraine dropped GBU-62 JDAM-ER glide bombs on the bridge in Kursk.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
