Summary
- F-16 likely not shot down by friendly fire from Patriot SAM
- Investigation into cause of F-16 loss ongoing, unclear at present
- Ukrainian President dismisses Air Force commander after F-16 crash
On Monday, Ukraine lost an F-16 fighter jet as it participated in shooting down Russian drones and missiles and a massive saturation attack. The pilot, Colonel Mes (called “Moonfish”) perished in the incident. However, debate is ongoing as to why the jet crashed. Some (including in high places) have said the F-16 was shot down by friendly fire from a Patriot SAM. However, according to reports from the NY Times, this has mostly been refuted by Ukraine and some US officials.
F-16 unlikely to have been shot down by Patriot
On August 31, the New York Times reported, “A Western official who has been briefed on the preliminary investigation of the crash said that there were “indications” that friendly fire from a Patriot missile battery might have brought down the jet, though mechanical failure and pilot error have not been ruled out.”
Photo: The Presidential Office of Ukraine
An unnamed Western official stated on Friday that the loss was the result of friendly fire from a Patriot missile battery. However, since then, the NYC reported “But on Saturday, two senior U.S. military officials said that friendly fire was probably not the cause of the F-16 downing, and that American and Ukrainian investigators were looking at a variety of possibilities. Those could include things like mechanical failure or pilot error.” A thorough investigation has been promised into the cause of the loss, and for now it seems the reason for the loss will be unclear.
Zelensky dismisses Ukrainian Air Force commander
Meanwhile, Zelensky dismissed the Ukrainian Air Force commander, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchut, after the incident. Zelensky announced Oleshchut’s dismissal on Telegram but didn’t specify if it was related to losing the F-16 jet and an extremely valuable F-16-trained Ukrainian pilot. Zelensky said in his post that Ukraine needed to strengthen its military leadership and that“we need to take care of people. Take care of the personnel. Take care of all our soldiers.”
The F-16 crashed on Friday into an apartment block in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing at least seven people and injuring more. The NY Times reported the F-16 piloted by Moonfish shot down three Russian cruise missiles and an attack drone and was racing to intercept another target when ground control lost communication with the jet.
Photo: US Air Force
Ukraine has only received six (some say 10) F-16s from the Netherlands and Denmark, with that number expected to grow to 20 by the end of the year. Western allies are attempting to replace the massive attritional losses the Ukrainian Air Force has sustained in the war. Initially, the West provided only spare parts of Ukraine’s existing legacy Soviet jets before Poland and Slovakia donated their own legacy Soviet-era jets. Now, Ukraine is starting the extremely complicated process of transitioning to Western jets in the middle of an existential war.