Ukrainian F-16 Top Gun pilot shoots down SIX of Putin’s cruise missiles in ‘world first’ during Russian rocket onslaught
A Top Gun pilot has set a new record in Ukraine’s history using an F-16 fighter pilot after shooting down six of Putin’s cruise missiles in a single combat mission.
The airstrike came as Russia launched nearly 200 drones into the air on December 13, as well as Kinzhals, ballistic, naval and land cruise missiles.
The unnamed pilot was tasked with shooting down the cruise missiles and admitted the chances of him hitting a missile traveling at more than 400 miles per hour were slim.
‘First you must find it in the air, at a flatter altitude, and at a distance of no more than 500 meters [1,640ft]hurry forward,” he said.
‘Shooting down cruise missiles with cannons is very risky because of the high speed of the target and the risk of explosion.
‘But I acted as the instructors in the US taught me, and I managed to hit.
“It turned out that two missiles flying side by side were destroyed at the same time.”
Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, chief spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said the pilot was greeted with “applause and ovations” from his fellow comrades upon returning to the ground.
A Top Gun pilot has set a new record in Ukraine’s history using an F-16 fighter pilot after shooting down six of Putin’s cruise missiles in a single combat mission
The unnamed pilot was assigned to shoot down the cruise missiles and flew with an F-16 fighter pilot
Ihnat narrated the events: “Let me remind you what happened on the morning of December 13, 2024 in the skies over Ukraine.
‘A huge air raid by the occupiers, almost 200 enemy drones in the air, Kinzhals [Dagger hypersonic missiles]ballistics, and 94 cruise missiles in the air, sea and land.”
The pilot flew an American-made F-16 ‘Fighter Falcon’, which was first delivered to Ukraine in August last year, marking a crucial milestone in the war.
He loaded his four air-to-air missiles aboard his fighter and shot down four cruise missiles with direct hits.
He then used his aircraft gun to protect Ukraine from more incoming missiles in one of the most intense Putin attacks of the war.
In the photo: Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, chief spokesperson of the Ukrainian Air Force Command
Ihnat added: “Based on the results of objective monitoring, we have 100 percent confirmation of the fact that for the first time in history, an American F-16 fighter jet shot down six cruise missiles in an anti-aircraft battle, two of them using an aircraft gun.
“And it’s being done by a Ukrainian.”
Ukraine lacked modern modifications to their fighter planes, but “young Ukrainian pilots prove every day that they are the best, whether they are in the cockpit of a Soviet or an American fighter plane.”
He said: ‘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 feat follows that of a Ukrainian Top Gun pilot who successfully destroyed one of Putin’s bridges in Kursk with American-made missiles.
Major Vadym Voroshylov, 30, led the mission, which saw Ukraine drop GBU-62 JDAM-ER glide bombs on the bridge in Kursk.