A Ukrainian F-16 fighter has scored a historic air-to-air kill against a Russian Su-35, according to the top US general during a Senate hearing. Gen. Dan Caine, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate’s Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the engagement took place “recently” without specifying the date.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “I’ll note that recently we had the first air-to-air kill where a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter,” Caine said, according to a video clip of the hearing shared by X channel OSINTtechnical.
CJCS Gen. Caine confirms that a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 shot down a Russian Su-35 in air to air combat. pic.twitter.com/P02lthZsLa— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 21, 2026
Polish outlet TVP World, citing Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi, said the operation also involved a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter that drew the Su-35 out by “[simulating] an attack on a ground target.”Two Ukrainian F-16s then engaged the Russian fighter with one of them scoring a kill, the report says.The kill marks the first publicly known engagement between the US-made F-16 and Russian-made Su-35, despite both of the jets being fielded by multiple countries.While the full circumstances of the engagement were not disclosed, multiple reports suggest that it took place on July 8, when Ukraine reported having downed an Su-35 on the eastern front.It is also unclear what air-to-air missiles the F-16 was carrying, although previous deliveries to Ukraine have included AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), which is usually the F-16 pilot’s preferred missile against any full-size manned aircraft.
