Key Points
- Ukrainian F-16 pilots have shot down more than 3,150 aerial targets, including 666 cruise missiles and about 2,500 drones, Ukraine’s Air Force commander said.
- Ukrainian officials and Lockheed Martin discussed a possible move to the newer F-16 Block 70/72.
Ukraine’s F-16 pilots have shot down more than 3,150 Russian aerial targets, including 666 cruise missiles and about 2,500 drones, the commander of Ukraine’s Air Force said during a meeting with Lockheed Martin.
Lt. Gen. Anatolii Kryvonozhko gave the figures when a Ukrainian Air Force delegation he led met with representatives of the U.S. company, the Air Force said. He said Ukrainian F-16s have also flown more than 650 strikes against Russian ground targets. Kryvonozhko said the pilots are getting the most out of the jets despite a limited supply of weapons, using several different types of munitions.
The Ukrainian Air Force did not say when or where the meeting took place, or over what period the kills were counted.
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Conor McGuire, who leads F-16 capability development at Lockheed Martin, praised how Ukrainian pilots and ground crews have operated and fought with the jet, and said the company intends to help Ukraine improve the capabilities of the F-16s it already flies, according to the Air Force. The two sides also discussed the possibility of Ukraine moving to newer versions of the Fighting Falcon, including the F-16 Block 70/72.
The Block 70/72 is the latest production model of the F-16, built by Lockheed Martin in Greenville, South Carolina. It adds an AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array radar, which can track more targets at longer range than older radars, along with new cockpit displays and a longer structural service life. Ukraine currently flies older F-16s donated by European countries, which were upgraded in the 2000s but were not built new for Ukraine.
The first F-16s arrived in Ukraine in the summer of 2024, supplied by the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium. Ukraine has used them mainly to intercept the Russian cruise missiles and Shahed-type attack drones that target its cities and power grid, often firing guns and short-range missiles at drones to save more expensive weapons. Ukraine has also lost several F-16s and pilots in combat and accidents since the jets entered service.
Ukraine is also looking beyond the F-16. In October 2025, it signed a letter of intent with Sweden for up to 150 Saab Gripen E fighters, and in November 2025 it signed a similar agreement with France for up to 100 Rafales. Neither deal has produced deliveries so far.
