A Ukrainian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon has successfully shot down a Russian Su-35 Flanker-E in air-to-air combat, marking a historic first in the war. The milestone was publicly confirmed in late July 2026 by General Dan Caine, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a Senate hearing.
Caine stated, “I want to highlight the incredible work the Ukraine industrial base is doing as they scale their own capabilities. It ranges from their surface-to-air capabilities to air-to-air capabilities. I’ll note that recently we had the first air-to-air kill [where a] Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter.”
Viewers may note that loss of Su-35 on 8 July has been accepted by Russian commentators and it is most likely General Dan Caine was referring to that only.
This development is particularly noteworthy.
The F-16s supplied to Ukraine by the Netherlands and Denmark are relatively old variants.
The aircraft delivered consist of F-16AM (single-seat) and F-16BM (two-seat) models.
These are legacy F-16 Block 10 and Block 15 airframes that underwent the extensive Mid-Life Update (MLU) modernization program.
They are equipped with the Westinghouse AN/APG-66 X-band mechanically scanned pulse-Doppler radar, which is capable of detecting a non-stealth, fighter-sized target at a maximum range of approximately 100 miles (160 km). The most capable air-to-air weapon available for these aircraft is the AIM-120C-8, the export variant of the AIM-120D, with a maximum engagement range of approximately 100 miles (160 km).
By contrast, the Su-35 is among the most advanced fighters in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces and is widely classified as a 4++ generation multirole combat aircraft.
It is equipped with the Irbis-E passive electronically scanned array radar, which is reported to detect fighter-sized targets at ranges of up to 250 miles (400 km). The aircraft can be armed with the R-77M beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, which has a stated maximum range of approximately 250 miles (400 km).
Technically , it has significant edge.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how US made old F-16 managed to down Russian Su-35 in Ukraine ?
We explore 3 possibilities.
#defenseupdates #f16vssu35 #ukrainerussiawar
Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:32 SPONSORSHIP – NordVPN
02:06 MISSILE FIRED FROM ANOTHER F-16
04:30 TRACKING DATA FROM PATRIOT
07:42 GUIDANCE FROM SAAB ASC 890
Sponsorship:
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I was trying to get a little bit of data from Google on how many refresh updates. There have been technological updates. It looks like 4:00 to 6:00 and I believe these got two so they are extremely outdated which is very impressive
SU 35 is an Airshow plane not combat.
Impossible this to happen 😂😂😂
AMERICAN PROPAGANDA BULLSHIT! 😅
If an Indian Mig 21 can shoot down pakistani F 16 , in this case both F 16 and Su 35 are 4th generation planes so it's not a big thing.
🚨🚨🚨
This is FAKE NEWS…, NO SU 35 was shot down…, FAKE…, only 2 jets have been hit in this war and they were both in 2023/// all others were on the ground…
WESTERN PROPAGANDA…, DO NOT BELIEVE THIS BS.
If Iran with Temu air defense shoots down F35 this is not a surprise 😂
how? your new missiles
I have a friend who is a retired USAF lieutenant colonel with over 1000 hours in the F-16. He will tell you that there is no better fighter “in the phone booth” (close quarters dogfighting) in the world than the F-16!
bruh it wasn't confirmed .. from the russian side.. dont make assumptions from one side of the story …. it was electrical malfunction…russian said it … nothing is confirmed…
Very clever.
A lawn mowing F16 can get the jump. It's not impossible.
It's the R37M that has a reported range of 400kms not R77M
So what was that close to $1.8 billion worth of assets. Wow talk about making your neighbors jealous 😂
Excellent technical data 👏 👌
how many F-16 shoot down by Su 35?
🤣👍
Russia sucks!!!
It's crazy how the Russian jet is supposed to have better radar and longer range missiles and still gets shot down …
I wouldn’t be surprised if an old F-16 could shoot down and Russian jet in any condition.
I don't understand tho how you risk like 3? F16s to get that su35 while a Patriot Sambush could've killed it on its own. Especially if su35 has a longrange radar as claimed lol. We should've given Ukraine AESA radar upgrade therefor, but it's not impossible Saaw AWACS was also involved in this operation, with LINK16.
go Ukraine
Ruck FuSSia
Ruck FuSSia