Ukrainian F-16 pilot says Russia's battlefield actions show its troops think NATO jets are higher quality and fear them

• Russia's troops thin to retreat erstwhile encountering NATO fighters, a Ukrainian F-16 aviator said.

• He said Ukraine tends to deploy its F-16s and Mirages for screen missions oregon successful precise strikes.

• His comments were portion of the archetypal video interrogation Ukraine has published with an F-16 pilot.

A Ukrainian F-16 aviator said Moscow's forces look to peculiarly shy distant from Western craft due to the fact that they cognize however deadly the jets tin be.

Ukraine's aerial unit released his comments connected Wednesday arsenic portion of its first-ever video interrogation with an F-16 pilot. His look was obscured, and the aerial unit said it withheld the pilot's sanction and telephone motion for information purposes.

"With the accomplishment of Western equipment, the concern with carrying retired combatant screen missions has improved," said the aviator successful Ukrainian. "We present person antithetic weaponry, much high-quality weaponry. The Russians recognize that arsenic well."

He said Ukraine has been deploying its American F-16 Fighting Falcons and French Mirage 2000-5s successful much close-range encounters.

"From their actions, we tin spot that they are starting to retreat. They are acrophobic to attack us," helium added. "After all, determination is simply a surviving idiosyncratic sitting there, too, who besides does not privation to die."

The aviator said Ukraine has been utilizing its F-16s for tactical strikes similar "a scalpel," portion its Soviet MiG-29s, Su-24s, and Su-27s are assigned much wide to suppress and destruct targets similar "hammers and sledgehammers."

Ukraine's Soviet craft are often sent to weaponry Russian targets astatine adjacent range, which the aviator said means his comrades person to alert "dangerously adjacent to the beforehand line."

So Ukraine sends it F-16s and Mirages to supply screen for their Soviet counterparts, helium said.

That benignant of onslaught has materially changed however Moscow's troops react, the aviator added.

"They cognize astir the method characteristics of our weaponry. They cognize wherever to advance, wherever to retreat," helium said, adding that Ukraine has been trying to exploit those gaps.

The aviator besides said the F-16 and Mirage connection Ukraine the quality to behaviour "very, precise precise" strikes.

"At the moment, we tin lone onslaught astatine tactical depth," helium said of Ukrainian pilots assigned to NATO fighters. "But these attacks are highly precise."

"If we want, our weaponry tin alert consecutive done someone's window," helium added.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a remark petition sent by Business Insider.

The F-16's borderline implicit Ukraine's Soviet aircraft

The F-16 is an older plan by Western standards — with much than 50 years of work — but is inactive valued by Ukraine for its quality to transportation and motorboat a wide array of NATO precision-guided munitions against some aerial and onshore targets.

These see the Joint Direct Attack Munition - Extended Range, which has a reported scope of 50 miles, and the AIM-120, a medium-range air-launched rocket that takes retired different aviation targets. Ukraine has some weapons.

This capableness means that the F-16 tin beryllium a versatile instrumentality for warring different aircraft, conducting crushed strikes, oregon suppressing Russian aerial defenses.

Some of its Soviet aircraft, similar the MiG-29, are besides multirole fighters, but the F-16 has amended radar systems, physics jammers, and range. In January, Ukraine said 1 of its pilots destroyed a grounds of six Russian missiles successful a azygous sortie.

Meanwhile, Dassault's Mirage is different combat-proven craft being sent to Ukraine, though it's mostly constricted to firing French munitions. For example, it tin motorboat the long-range Storm Shadow cruise rocket but has to instrumentality with the shorter-range MICA air-to-air rocket erstwhile dealing with aerial targets.

Kyiv has been receiving F-16s from European allies since the summertime of 2024 and got its archetypal tranche of Mirages from France successful February.

Ukraine has been tight-lipped astir the fig of jets it's received. Countries similar Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark person pledged to present implicit 100 F-16s to Ukraine, but the full process tin instrumentality months to years.

Still, Ukraine has to beryllium cautious with its invaluable Western jets. Russia's surface-to-air rocket defenses, specified arsenic the S-400, are formidable, and Ukrainian pilots person been known to bounds flying altitude oregon scope to little vulnerability to them.

Kyiv has already mislaid 1 F-16 erstwhile a apical aviator crashed successful August portion warring cruise missiles and drones adjacent the capital.

Earlier this month, respective pro-Kremlin Telegram channels said that different F-16 was changeable down successful the Sumy region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the study erstwhile speaking to journalists connected March 19.

"The Russians are lying that they changeable down thing there, they didn't sprout down anything," helium said.

Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine needs 128 F-16s to combat efficaciously against Russia.

Recently, Ukraine's F-16 programme was thrown into question erstwhile President Donald Trump paused subject assistance to Kyiv successful aboriginal March. The assistance was yet resumed erstwhile Ukraine agreed to US-brokered presumption for a cease-fire.

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