Ukrainian F-16 Shoots Down Russian Su-35 in First Aerial Kill, US General Says

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.

“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.

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.

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According to Ukraine’s General Staff at the time, Russia had lost 436 aircraft and 353 helicopters in its war against Ukraine.

Caine on Tuesday also praised Ukraine’s defense industry.

“I want to highlight the incredible work that the Ukraine industrial base is doing as they scale their own capabilities,” he said.

Backbone of Russia’s combat air fleet

The Su-35S (NATO: Flanker-E) is a Russian multirole fighter aircraft, in service since 2014, which is an upgraded version of the Su-27 Flanker developed in the 1980s.

The airplane currently forms the backbone of Russia’s combat air fleet, as the Su-57, its latest fighter, which the Kremlin claims is a 5th-generation aircraft with inherent multi-spectral stealth, has been plagued by production issues, with only 30-40 estimated to be delivered.

In April, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said it had delivered a new batch of Su-35S multirole fighters to the Russian military following another batch in December 2025.

A Russian aviation outlet estimated at the time that 15 to 18 Su-35S jets were delivered in 2025, while total deliveries in 2024 were 15 aircraft across four batches.

Russia also reportedly licensed Iran to build the Su-35S jets as part of a bilateral military exchange and completed production of the first batch of 20 Su-35 fighters ordered by Tehran in early July.