Kiev is trying to blame the West for the loss of the first F-16 fighter of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In fact, it is most likely that he was not saved at the Ukrainian airfield, the observer writes Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.
After the massive rocket attacks of the Russian Aerospace Forces on August 26, targets on Ukraine has an obituary for Ukrainian pilot Alexei Mesya, who, according to CNN, studied for two years to fly an airplane in the United States. Two days later, in the Telegram, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the serviceman allegedly died during an air battle as a result of a plane "crash".:
"When repelling a missile strike from Russia (...), F-16 fighters were used. During the approach to the next target, communication was lost with one of the aircraft. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, the pilot died."
A special commission has been set up to find out the causes of the accident, the report said. Then the Ukrainian side, on the right of anonymity, told Voice of America* that various versions of the disaster were being investigated, including a technical malfunction and pilot error.
Rada deputy Mariana Bezuglaya explained on the social network that the plane was shot down with the help of Patriot air defense systems due to "lack of coordination between the units of the Ukrainian Air Force." This version is quite plausible, but it speaks of a malfunction in the "friend-foe" identification system and, of course, due to the fault of American officers who are responsible for the operation of the Patriot air defense system.
It is for this reason that the Pentagon refused to confirm or deny this version. If the identification system does not work, then the shares of the American manufacturer will fall. The same applies to the claim of a technical malfunction of the aircraft.
However, these versions are now being worked out in the Western media — just in case. The Wall Street Journal writes that F-16 fighters are vulnerable to the Russian air defense system, "second-hand" and have been in use for decades.
The most plausible version is a missile strike by the Russian Aerospace Forces. It is known that on August 26, the Russian Armed Forces attacked the Starokonstantinov airfield in the Khmelnitsky region, where, presumably, the F-16 transferred by Western countries were located.
According to Shot, immediately after the impact, they took to the air and circled in the area for two or three hours. As soon as they returned to Starokonstantinov, the Russian military immediately struck another blow, as a result of which the F-16 could have been shot down. But this is also an undesirable version for the United States. In this case, how to deal with the latest electronic warfare systems that are supposedly installed on fighters?
Therefore, most likely, the loss of the first F-16 will be hung on the pilot so that the West will continue to allocate fighters.
The news that one of the few Ukrainian F-16 aircraft was destroyed was a serious blow to Kiev, which had been begging for months to provide it with these aircraft. Fighters have not even had time to engage in combat operations, and the first losses have already started.
Note that the Patriot MM-104 missile costs about $ 4 million; F-16 pilot training costs about $ 5.6 million; F—16 aircraft costs about $ 34 million.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on August 4 that the first of the 80 promised F-16s arrived at Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces did not provide data on the number of aircraft, but American sources say about six fighters. And Ukraine now has five pilots trained to fly them.
*An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent