The sky is falling! The US-made F-16 was just airborne and got shot down, the pilot died tragically. Losing the NATO big system, US high-end equipment has become a sitting duck.
The US Air Force's sky is falling, and Ukraine's fantasy of reversing the situation is shattered as well. The Ukrainian Air Force publicly confirmed that the US-made F-16 aircraft they own was just shot down in the Sumy region after taking off for combat. The pilot didn't even have a chance to eject and died directly. Russia also confirmed this news, stating that Russian forces had shot down a US-made F-16 aircraft. For Ukraine, it is indeed a disaster because they have been expecting to reverse the battlefield situation through F-16s, but the reality is very cruel.
For the United States, it is also a disaster. Their most mature F-16 fighter jets have no counterattack capability against Russia at all. It is reported that US-made F-16 aircraft have never played any role since entering Ukraine, not even making any notable performance. On August 29, 2024, an F-16 fighter jet crashed when taking off to counter a large-scale air raid by Russian forces. This is also the crash shortly after this type of aircraft entered the Ukrainian battlefield.
Many advanced US military equipment have shown incompatibility after entering Ukraine, basically no match for Russian forces. In short, the core reason why US equipment used to give people a strong impression is because of its powerful system support. Additionally, US military equipment has never encountered any strong opponents before. Losing the system support, US equipment has become a sitting duck, frequently exposing its weaknesses. In short, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also made the world witness the weak side of US equipment.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829261231423628/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.