Ukraine’s Air Force says it shot down another Russian fighter jet, announcing the kill in a brief statement that leaned more on bravado than battlefield detail.
“Good news from the Air Force! Today we subtracted another Russian air terrorist! Glory to Ukraine! More to come!” the Air Force said in its official statement.
The claim gained a second layer of credibility from Sonyashnyk, a Telegram community that has developed a reputation for close ties to Ukrainian military aviators and has previously published footage and details of Ukrainian air operations before official channels confirmed them. Sonyashnyk’s statement on the shootdown suggested a more specific and personal motive behind the celebration than the Air Force’s own announcement let on, describing the downed pilot as someone who had been a persistent thorn in Ukrainian operations.
In July 2026, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that its F-16 Fighting Falcon shot down Russia’s newly built Su-35 fighter jet, and multiple independent sources confirmed that a Su-35 was indeed lost.
Ukrainian Air Force did not confirm which war front it shot down the aircraft, but Ukrainian Air Force’s F-16, along with Saab 340 airborne early warning aircraft, have been patrolling near Eastern Ukraine, where Russia repeatedly used Su-34, MiG-31 and Su-35 drop glide bombs in Ukraine.
An estimated 35 to 40 F-16 fighter jets have been delivered so far by the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, according to defence reporting. Deliveries have occurred in multiple batches since August 2024, with additional aircraft expected as donor countries retire their own F-16 fleets.
In operational use, Ukraine has primarily employed its F-16s to intercept Russian cruise missiles and drones, conduct air defence patrols, escort strike aircraft, and carry out air-superiority missions near the front.
Several defence publications and analysts have reported that the engagement may have involved a Ukrainian F-16, supported by a Swedish-supplied Saab 340 airborne surveillance platform, which used an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile to shoot down a Su-35.
ROLE OF SAAB 340 AEW&C AND TACTICS
The Swedish airborne early warning platform supplied to Ukraine is the Saab 340 AEW&C, equipped with the ERIEYE RADAR.
The possibility of engaging targets using beyond-visual-range missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM while receiving targeting updates from the AEW&C aircraft, rather than relying entirely on the F-16’s own radar.
This is why analysts suggested that a Saab 340 working together with an F-16 had played a role in the reported shootdown of a Russian Sukhoi Su-35.
Analysts suggested that factors such as long-range detection by airborne early warning aircraft, networked targeting, beyond-visual-range missiles, pilot tactics, and the broader tactical situation may have contributed to the downing of the Su-35.
Russian Su-35
In June 2025, a Russian Su-35 was reported to have been shot down by an F-16 fighter jet, and its loss is supported by imagery and multiple reports.
In February, the Russian Aerospace Forces received a batch of newly built Su-35s from the Sukhoi Design Bureau and subsequently deployed them in the war in Ukraine.
In the Ukraine war, Russia lost more than 34 Su-35s in either actual combat, an accident or collateral damage. The Su-35 is a Soviet-era aircraft with numerous issues affecting its GLONASS guidance and navigation systems, and it lacks electronic warfare and countermeasures. The Su-35’s missiles and phased array radars date mostly from the 1980s. Russia’s R-77 missile is a semi-active radar with only an 80-kilometre range. The R-27 is in short supply, and Russia cannot manufacture any more.
Ukraine’s F-16 Fighting Falcon
Ukraine’s donated F-16 AM/BM fighters are capable of carrying a wide variety of NATO weapons, but the exact weapons supplied remain partly undisclosed.
Based on reliable reporting, the Ukrainian Air Force has received the AIM-120 AMRAAM Medium-range, beyond-visual-range missile; the AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range infrared-guided missile; and the M61A1 Vulcan internal 20-millimetre six-barrel cannon with about 500 rounds, used for close-range air combat and ground attack.
Ukraine also received AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles for suppressing enemy radar and air defences. JDAM and JDAM-ER GPS-guided precision bombs, compatible with Ukraine’s F-16s, and laser-guided bombs such as the GBU-12 are also likely to be provided and have been widely discussed.
The donated Danish and Dutch F-16s also feature modern defensive equipment, including missile warning systems, electronic countermeasure pods, targeting pods and chaff and flare dispensers integrated into the pylons.
© 2026, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
