"Moonfish continues the mission": How a Ukrainian pilot set an "absolute record" flying the F-16 (video)

The loss of the outstanding Ukrainian pilot with the call sign Moonfish, Alexey Mesya, was a "very severe blow" to the Air Forces. This was stated in an interview with "Radio Liberty" on February 28 by the head of the communications department of the command, Yuriy Ignat.

"His mission is being continued by another pilot, whose call sign we unfortunately cannot disclose at this time. For all his time," he reported.

The Ukrainian pilot, whose name remains unknown, destroyed 6 cruise missiles just before the New Year using an F-16 aircraft.

"This is an absolute record. No pilot in the world has shot down cruise missiles from an F-16 using an aircraft cannon, let alone 6 at once," Ignat emphasized.

Four missiles were destroyed with the help of air-to-air missiles. The other two, with no missile ammunition left, were hit by the defender from the cannon.

"Hearing that more targets were incoming (he was moved to another area and heard that more missiles were coming from that direction), he requested permission and decided to try to do what Moonfish had done. That is, to shoot down a cruise missile using the aircraft cannon available on the F-16. And he did it," the communications chief explained.

Once on the ground, it was revealed that the pilot managed to destroy two missiles with several bursts. According to Ignat, this news "spread" in the West.

He clarified that although Ukraine is receiving older modifications of fighter jets from its partners, they are still better than what is currently in service. The capabilities of the F-16 are broader; it is the aircraft that Moonfish dreamed of. The exact number of these birds was not disclosed by the military, but he specified that it concerns "tens."

He recalled how, at the beginning of the full-scale war, when Russian planes were coming in to strike, there was no way to help. The leadership of the Air Forces found it difficult to monitor the situation in the sky, which was recorded by the systems. Today, however, the picture is different; it is no longer 12 Russian planes flying, but Ukrainian ones heading for an attack in the east.

"Pilots, all of Ukraine have been waiting for the moment when we can finally hit them too. We hit them hard," Ignat added.

Recall that the head of the communications department of the Air Forces command, Yuriy Ignat, spoke about which specialists have been prohibited from being transferred to the infantry. He mentioned that some military personnel were returned to the Armed Forces by order of the commander.

Ukrainian defenders have started to strike at the RF Armed Forces along the front line using light UAVs, converted into bombers. These drones fly low, creating difficulties for radar and air defense systems.