The first F-16 fighter jet lost by Ukraine could have crashed, as it inadvertently flew through a cloud of downed missile debris, Breaking Defense reports, citing sources in the Ukrainian defense industry.
According to the interlocutors of Breaking Defense, the fighter worked in conjunction with the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) and other air defense systems.
Among the versions put forward by experts, one is being considered, including the one according to which fragments of the downed missile could damage the engine and other parts of the aircraft, the interlocutors told the publication. This led to the crash of the fighter and the death of the pilot before he managed to eject, the portal notes.
According to one of the representatives of the leadership of the Ukrainian defense industry, similar precedents have already happened: at the beginning of the military operation, Kiev "lost four more fighters for the same reason when foreign objects in the air put the plane out of action," the source said.