Oleg Davygora22:46, 14.02.25

The disaster occurred due to friendly fire, the publication claims.

Last summer, Ukraine shot down its F-16 fighter jet because of the United States. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources. The publication writes that it was friendly fire from a Patriot air defense system, although Ukraine did not officially report this.

When the F-16s arrived in Ukraine, the Biden administration allegedly hid key technology that helps ground-based air defenses distinguish friend from foe.

“For situational awareness, the U.S. and its European allies use a tactical network called Link 16, which provides real-time visibility into everyone on the network — aircraft, ground units, ground-based air defenses and command and control, and the like. That visibility makes operations safer for allies and deadlier for enemies. Link 16 also reduces the risks to pilots flying into a barrage of enemy missiles and drones by ensuring their ground counterparts know where their aircraft are,” the journalists write.

According to them, when the fighters arrived, neither they nor the country’s air defense systems were equipped to use Link 16.

“The first Patriot missile systems arrived in Ukraine in April 2023. At that time, Link 16 was removed from the Patriots that were sent to Ukraine because no one expected that Ukraine would receive F-16s in the near future,” they added.

(C)UNIAN 2025