F-16: Ukraine's top pilot killed in US fighter jet crash

Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—

A senior Ukrainian pilot was killed when a U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, just weeks after the long-awaited planes arrived in the country, a Ukrainian military source told CNN.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces do not believe the incident was due to pilot error, the source added.

Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as “Moonfish,” died in the crash while fending off “the largest airstrike ever” by Russia on Ukraine, the source said, adding that the pilot was buried on Thursday.

The crash is being investigated and international experts will be invited to participate in the investigation, the source added.

The pilot's death is a heavy blow for Ukraine. The first F-16 fighter jets only arrived in the country at the beginning of the month and Moonfish was one of the few pilots trained to fly these machines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian Air Force deployed the F-16 on Monday to destroy missiles and drones launched by Russia, marking the first time a Ukrainian official confirmed the use of the jets in combat.

Kiev had to wait a long time for the F-16, and Zelensky had been asking his Western allies for the fighter jets since the beginning of the large-scale invasion.

But as with other equipment, Western countries hesitated before finally agreeing to deliver F-16s. The Netherlands and Denmark promised to deliver them in early summer 2023, but it took several more weeks for the US to give the green light for delivery.

When the jets arrived earlier this summer, Zelensky said he and his government had held “hundreds of meetings and negotiations” to ensure the safety of the jets.

A group of Ukrainian pilots began their F-16 training in the United States this fall. While it can take years to get the necessary flight training for these aircraft, Moonfish and others had to complete it in six months.

Ukraine hopes the F-16 will give it a much-needed boost. The jets have a wide range of uses: they can provide air cover for troops, attack ground targets, fight enemy aircraft and intercept missiles. With the right armament, F-16s could deter Russian fighter-bombers from approaching the battlefield.

However, the jets are not a panacea. Ukraine can use them to wrest control of the skies from Russia. But experts say they are inferior to the most modern Russian fighter planes, which would probably prevail in a dogfight with the F-16.

Moonfish and another pilot, Andriy Pilshchikov, known by the call sign “Juice,” became the faces of Ukraine’s campaign to acquire the F-16.

It was a tough fight, but Juice and Moonfish got through it together. They were young and enthusiastic, spoke good English and were ready to fight to get the US jets into Ukrainian skies.

Flying the F-16 was her dream, and when Juice was killed in a plane crash during a combat mission last August, Moonfish set out to make that dream come true.

Of the two, Moonfish was the quiet one: an aviation buff who didn't like being in the spotlight. But when Juice died, Moonfish had to take his place. In a rare interview with CNN, he admitted that he would give interviews if Juice were still alive.

He was a man of few words, passionate about his job and in control of his emotions. He spoke openly and knew everything about the F-16.

“Andriy was the brainchild and driving force behind everything,” said Moonfish. “And I feel responsible to him for getting these planes to arrive.”

During training, he told CNN that he and other Ukrainian pilots had to go through an abbreviated version of the training. “We would have had plenty of time in peacetime to fully study the jet, but we don't have the time,” he said.

In a statement released later Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force said Moonfish destroyed three cruise missiles and a combat drone on Monday before he was killed in the crash. The Air Force said he was posthumously promoted to colonel.