A Ukrainian F-16 pilot made history by destroying six cruise missiles in a single flight, according to Ignat.

During a massive missile and drone attack on December 13, 2024, a Ukrainian pilot flying an F-16 achieved a historic feat by destroying six enemy cruise missiles in a single combat sortie. This unique incident was reported by Yuriy Ihnat, head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On that day, nearly 200 Russian drones, "Kinzhal" missiles, ballistic missiles, and 94 cruise missiles were in the Ukrainian skies. The latter are the primary targets for fighter jets. The F-16 pilot recalls that there was a group of eight cruise missiles on the aircraft's course, and he maneuvered to a suitable distance, locked onto two targets, launched missiles in succession, and hit them.

Under the wings of the F-16, the Ukrainian pilot had only four medium and short-range air-to-air missiles. The longer-range missiles were the first to be deployed. Subsequently, the pilot had to close in to about two miles to use the short-range missiles and successfully shoot down two more targets.

After launching all his missiles, the pilot received instructions to retreat to the standby zone to allow the Su-27s to engage the targets. However, another enemy target appeared on his course, apparently heading toward the capital.

Only the rapid-fire cannon remained on the F-16, and the pilot began to close in.

"I realized that the chances of hitting a missile traveling at over 650 km/h were slim — first, I had to spot it in the sky, level out at the same altitude, and fire ahead from a distance of no more than 500 meters," the pilot explained, noting that approaching any closer was extremely dangerous due to the risk of being caught in a cloud of debris from a detonation.

Moreover, pilots had trained to shoot down aerial targets with the cannon exclusively on simulators in the U.S. In real flights, Ukrainian F-16 pilots had never used the cannon against missiles.

The pilot fired several bursts from the cannon, as instructed by his trainers and practiced on the simulator, and heard two explosions. According to objective control results, there were two missiles flying "in a stack," close to each other.

"The enemy often launches them in such a tactical configuration; an entire group of enemy missiles can fly closely together so that they appear as a single target. Well, that day, I suppose I set a record," the pilot shared.

Initially, the Americans couldn't even believe that Ukrainian pilots were capable of such feats. They were pleasantly surprised to learn how well their charges were performing.

Yuriy Ihnat noted that while Ukraine received somewhat older aircraft modifications from its partners, lacking powerful radars and long-range missiles to compete on equal footing with Russia's advanced aircraft, Ukrainian pilots prove every day that they remain the best, whether in a Soviet or an American fighter jet.

As a reminder, on December 13, air defense forces shot down 81 Russian missiles. Among them, 11 were destroyed by F-16 fighter pilots.

At that time, the energy infrastructure across Ukraine was under massive attack. In some regions, air alerts lasted nearly 15 hours.