Europe
SOURCE: REUTERS
An F-16 fighter jet used by Ukraine crashed on Monday, Kyiv’s military said, the first such loss reported since the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made planes in the country was confirmed this month.
The jet came down and its pilot died while it was approaching a target during a Russian airstrike, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday in a statement on Facebook. The F-16s had “demonstrated high efficiency” and downed four Russian cruise missiles, it added. “Connection with one of the aircraft was lost while it was approaching the next target. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, the pilot died,” the statement added.
Continue readingSOURCE: REUTERS
Two French military jets collided in midair over the country’s east on Wednesday, killing two military personnel and leaving a sole survivor, French officials said.
In a post on X, French President Emmanuel Macron identified the fatalities in the Rafale (AM.PA), opens new tab aircraft accident as Captain Sebastien Mabire and Lieutenant Matthis Laurens.
Continue readingSOURCE: REUTERS
Ukrainian pilots have started flying F-16s for operations within the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, confirming the long-awaited arrival of the US-made fighter jets more than 29 months since Russia’s invasion.
The Ukrainian leader announced the use of F-16s, which Kyiv has long lobbied for, as he met military pilots at an air base flanked by two of the jets with two more flying overhead. “F-16s are in Ukraine. We did it. I am proud of our guys who are mastering these jets and have already started using them for our country,” Zelenskiy said at a location that authorities asked Reuters not to disclose for security reasons.
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